LAND Securities continued momentum across its office and retail property portfolio during its third quarter.

Chief executive Francis Salway said today: “We enter our final quarter confident in our ability to continue to exploit the opportunities we have created across our portfolio as well as reacting to wider market activity.”

The UK’s biggest landlord, which includes Liverpool’s St John’s and Clayton Square shopping centres, said its development lettings for the third quarter were pleasing, with the retail element of its recent One New Change scheme in London now fully let and 71% of its office space now let or in solicitors’ hands.

Trinity Leeds, a £350m development representing one of the largest investments in the UK since the downturn, is now 45% let two years from completion.

The asset management arm achieved £11m of lettings, with a further £6.6m in solicitors’ hands. This includes lettings for new or refurbished stores for the new John Lewis ‘at home’ format in Chester and Exeter.

Mr Salway said: “Our focus on executing the plans we laid out for the year is bearing fruit.

“We expect a wider range of buying opportunities in 2011, although current flows of capital into the sector mean that bidding may remain competitive.

“The first quarter of 2011 is likely to see mixed new flow around the consumer and the economy, but we expect occupational demand from large corporates to remain steady.”

Liverpool stockbroker Panmure Gordon said: “Land Securities remains an appealing long-term story in our view, although the current valuation now sits well with our target price.”