LAND Securities, the UK’s biggest landlord, reported a 14.8% increase in pre-tax profits of £1.23bn for the year to March 31.

The group, which owns Liverpool’s St John’s and Clayton Square shopping centres, saw a 4.7% rise in rents across its total like-for-like portfolio.

It reduced empty units across its portfolio on a like-for-like basis from 5.3% last year to 4.3%, and completed disposals worth £687m at 12.7% above the March, 2010, valuations.

Major deals include an agreement with discount retail chain Primark for 40,100 sq m of space in five UK locations, and a commitment from the John Lewis group for “at home” shops in Chester and Exeter.

The Chester development will be the first “at home” shop in the north of England, over two floors at Land Securities’ Greyhound Retail Park, due to open this autumn.

Chief executive Francis Salway described the year as one of “continued recovery” and “strong progress”.

Portfolio director Gerald Jennings praised the performance of its Liverpool properties, saying: “What is encouraging is Liverpool city centre as a whole recorded its busiest April on record, with half a million more visitors than in 2010. This annual rise of 10% trumps the national drop of 0.8% in April.”

He added: “St John’s has attracted 2.7m customers so far this year and increased the frequency of its visitors from 60 to 64 times per year, proving that our retail offer is still a major draw on the high street.”

But he said the group has to remain resilient in the difficult conditions.