L&G’s property empire swells to £1.3tn

Legal & General property assets have climbed to £1.3tn in the first half of the year as profits topped £1bn. In its half-year results, published this morning, the insurance giant said profits had risen 14% on H1 2020 to £1.08bn, beating City expectations of £999m. It is now planning to return £309m to shareholders in September. Legal & General Capital, its main real estate arm, saw property assets under management grow to £3.4bn from £3bn in H1 2020, with profits before tax leaping to £298m from a loss of £184m in 2020. Profits for LGIM also grew by 4% to £204m for the half, while assets under management grew by 7% to £1.3tn. However, the insurer’s flagship modular housing business continued to make a loss, rising to £16m in the first half of 2021. To send feedback, e-mail piers.wehner@eg.co.uk or tweet @PiersWehner or @EGPropertyNews