British Land is planning to focus its business on the so-called sharing economy by building more homes for rent and expanding its own serviced office brand in a bid to shore up its portfolio against weakness in the retail sector. The company said it planned to be an “increasingly mixed-use business”, expanding its Storey office brand, which it launched last year, into more of its properties as well as building more rental homes. The move also means it is backing away from the more volatile retail sector, where it said that the gap between prime shopping centres and a second tier of centres is becoming increasingly large. Chris Grigg, chief executive of British Land, said the build-to-rent sector, where British Land has traditionally not had much of a presence, was a particular area of growth. “We’ve identified it as a segment of the market that’s likely to grow because there’s a shortage of housing in this country and more people are looking to rent,” he said.
British Land plans to expand Chris Grigg , the serviced office brand it launched last year as weakness in the retail sector prompts it to reposition its portfolio. The company said the sector could reach 10% of its portfolio. The property developer said it intends to continue building offices in Storey because of healthy demand and has about 1.6 million sq ft of development planned.