Land Securities PLC (LON:LAND) new chief executive has said the group will use the coronavirus crisis to step back and assess the long-term strategic direction of the property giant.
In a statement accompanying the FTSE 100-listed firm's full-year results, Mark Allan - who took over last month - said that, In many ways, it is "an ideal time to undertake such an exercise".
“There are profound structural trends already disrupting the real estate sector that present both risks and opportunities,” he added.
Allan’s comments accompanied a warning that the group does not expect a full recovery in the UK economy until 2022 at the earliest.
Alongside results that showed the group slump to a loss of £837mln in the year to March 31, 2020, Land Securities said it was planning for more business failures and vacancy rates across its portfolio.
The real estate group said it collected 63% of rents in March against 94% a year ago, but added that it expects a much worse outcome in June and it is taking measures to protect the business.
Write-downs on the value of its retail properties were largely behind the hefty loss, with almost £1.2bn of impairments.
The group's net asset value fell 12% to 1,182p per share while the final dividend had already been scrapped.