Over the past three years, we have focused on increasing our investments in best-in-class assets where our competitive advantages can support long-term growth, and on preserving our balance sheet strength. The success of our strategy is reflected in our continued like-for-like income growth and rising occupancy, significantly outperforming market averages. Owning the right real estate has never been more important, and future performance across the entire sector will be much more driven by asset quality than generic themes. The successful execution of our current strategy means Landsec is well positioned in this respect, with a portfolio built on high-quality places with scarcity value. Customer demand for our high-quality product has remained robust despite the unsettled political and economic backdrop, concerns about hybrid working and cost-of-living pressures for consumers. We expect high demand for best-in-class space to endure and, as supply of this space remains limited, this will continue to support income growth. In addition, after a period of proactive asset recycling, we have meaningful capacity to reinvest proceeds in acquiring high-quality assets at an attractive point in the cycle.

^*Underlying EPRA EPS excluding the benefit of increased surrender premiums during FY23; EPRA EPS including this benefit was 53.1 pence