British Land PLC upped its interim dividend by almost a quarter as rental collection levels rebounded to pre-pandemic levels.
"We have delivered good financial and operational performance,” said Simon Carter, chief executive.
“Strong leasing activity, significantly improved rent collection and increasing values across our Campuses and Retail Parks have driven 6.1% total returns in the half.”
Underlying profits rose 12% to £129mln in the six months to end September 2021, while at the pre-tax level the FTSE100 group swung from a loss of £730mln to a profit of £370mln.
The value of the portfolio increased by 2.9% led by retail parks, which rose by 7.1%, though office campuses were also up, by 3%, with other retail sites 2.7% higher.
During the pandemic, the FTSE 100 group introduced support measures to help retailers cope with the disruption but said rentals overall were at 96% during the half-year with offices fully paid and retail close to pre-pandemic levels.
Footfall and sales in the retail portfolio were also better than expected at 89% and 98% (97% and 98% for Retail Parks) of pre-pandemic levels respectively.
British Land's new office developments in London meanwhile had seen a strong take-up, it said.
Canada Water and Aldgate Place, Phase 2, now had 718,000 sq ft of commitments, while 1 Broadgate is either fully pre-let or under option.
"In the last six months we have made good progress recycling capital from mature assets into our 1.6m sq ft development programme and £501m of acquisitions," said Carter.
"Current market trends reinforce the conviction we have in our strategy, and we are already seeing the benefits of our decision to focus on our unique campus proposition, the value play in retail parks and urban logistics development in London."
Net tangible assets over the half-year rose 5.1% to 681p, while the dividend rises 23% to 10.32p, equal to 80% of underlying earnings per share.