British Land
British Land is one of the largest property development and investment companies in the United Kingdom. Headquartered in London, it is also one of Europe's largest 'real estate investment trusts' (REIT) and is listed on the London Stock Exchange. It gives investors with direct access to a wide range of property assets which it manages, finances and develops, 'delivering security of income as well as capital growth'. [1]
The company switched to Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) status when REITs were introduced in 2007 in the UK. REITs are companies exempt from corporate taxation on profits from rental income and capital gains on the sale of investment properties. The Government established REITs to remove the tax inequalities between different real estate investors. REITs are required to distribute 90 per cent of their UK property rental profits in the form of property income dividends (PIDs).[1]
Contents
Activities
British Land focuses on prime retail and office properties, mainly in the UK, which attract high-quality occupiers committed to long leases.
- Each year over 250 million people visit our properties which house over 1000 different organisations. Through our property and finance expertise we attract experienced partners to create environments in which businesses and local communities can thrive.
Tax avoidance
A new tax havens database compiled by the anti-poverty charity ActionAid in October 2011 revealed just how embedded the use of tax havens is in the structures of nearly all Britain’s biggest companies.
It found that British Land had more than 27 per cent of its subsidiaries (184 out of 675) located in tax havens. Most of these were located in Jersey (143 subsidiaries), and 16 in Luxembourg. [2]
British Land was one of a number of big firms represented in the Coalition government's Controlled Foreign Companies (CFC) Working Groups, which gave advice on how changes could be made to the existing CFC legislation designed to deter companies from exploiting the low tax rates offered by tax havens. Under Labour these rules had been toughened up so that if a multinational shifted its profits into a tax haven, the UK company topped up its tax bill at home, bringing it into line with the UK rate (28 % under Labour).
However the 2012 Budget saw these rules watered down to make it easier for multinationals to shift profits in tax havens at a cost of nearly £1billion to the public purse. Critics branded it another "tax giveaway", one which ActionAid estimated would also cost exchequers in the global south £4bn a year. [3]
PR and Lobbyists
External
- Four Communications[4]
- Quiller [5] According to Public Affairs News Quiller was appointed following an extended pitch process for a public affairs campaign focused on Westminster [6]
- Lexington Communications, December 2013-[7]
Internal
- Pip Wood -Corporate Communications Director
- Adrian Penfold
- Ben Grove
People
- Dr Chris Gibson-Smith, Non-executive Chairman, also Chairman of the London Stock Exchange
- Chris Grigg, Chief Executive, former Barclays Commercial chief executive and Goldman Sachs employee
- Lucinda Bell, Finance Director
- Tim Roberts, Head of Offices
- Simon Carter, Head of Treasury and Capital Markets
Contact
- York House
- 45 Seymour Street
- London W1H 7LX
- Tel: 020 7486 4466
- Email:info@britishland.com
Resources
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 British Land Annual Report 2011, acc 5 January 2012.
- ↑ ActionAid [Addicted to tax havens], 11 October 2011, accessed same day
- ↑ Caroline Lucas, This tax giveaway to multinationals must be stopped, guardian.co.uk, Monday 16 April 2012
- ↑ Register 1st September 2014 - 30th November 2014 APPC, accessed 28 January 2015
- ↑ APPC Register Entry for 1 September 2010 to 30 November 2010, APPC Register Entry for 1 March 2011 to 31 May 2011, APPC Register Entry for 1 Jun 2011 to 31 Aug 2011, APPC Register Entry for 1 Sep 2011 to 30 Nov 2011
- ↑ City hands PA role to Bridges, Public Affairs News, Feb 2011
- ↑ Register 1st December 2014 - 28th February 2015 APPC, accessed 8 April 2015
