Hammerson blames credit crunch for £417m first-half loss

Anglo-French office and retail property group Hammerson has reported a £417m pre-tax loss in the six months to 30 June 2008, following a profit of £368m the previous year.

The loss was driven by £407m devaluation in its property portfolio, which now stands at £7.1bn, due to the credit crunch.

Adjusted net asset value per share fell 10% from £15.45p to £13.92p.

The group, which in the UK owns the Brent Cross shopping centre and Foster-designed Bishops Square office and retail scheme in London, said it was unlikely to start new developments before summer 2009.

John Nelson, chairman of the group, said: “The conditions in the international debt markets are the most difficult to have been experienced for many years. This has led to falls in real estate values in a number of markets and it is difficult to predict when conditions will improve.

“However, given the strength of our business and our experienced management team, I believe we are in a good position to exploit these more difficult market conditions.”