Hammerson

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Hammerson REIT

Type	Real estate investment trust
Founded	1942
Headquarters	London, United Kingdom
Key people	John F. Nelson (Chairman), R. John Richards, (Chief Executive)
Industry	Property
Products	Investment, Property management
Revenue	£278.2 million GBP (2006)
Operating income	£949.3 million GBP (2006)
Net income	£1,026.8million GBP (2006)
Website	www.hammerson.com

Hammerson REIT (LSE: HMSO) is a major British property development and investment company. Formerly a plc it switched to Real Estate Investment Trust status when REITs were introduced in the United Kingdom in January 2007. It is traded on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. The majority of Hammerson's portfolio is in the United Kingdom, but is also operates in Contintental Europe, including operations in France and Germany. It invests mainly in offices and retail premises. It is also listed on Euronext stock exchange in Paris.

The business was founded by Lewis Hammerson, who began to invest in property in 1942, converting houses into apartments. His company L.W. Hammerson & Co moved into the commercial property sector in 1948 and became a listed company in 1953. It first expanded outside the UK in the 1960s, when it moved into Australia, New Zealand and the United States. In the 1970s it ventured onto the continent and back in the UK it developed the Brent Cross Shopping Centre, which was the first major covered shopping centre in the country. In the 1990s the operations outside Europe were sold and further properties were acquired in Europe. 2003 saw the opening of the new Bull Ring shopping centre in Birmingham, which was one of the largest city centre retail developments ever built in the UK, the company also operates a number of high quality office towers in the city of London, such as 99 Bishopsgate, Moor House, as well as the redevelopment of 125 Old Broad Street which was formaly the London Stock Exchange

Hammersons current headquarters are 10 Grosvenor Street, London.

Hammerson's profits for the year ended 31 December 2006 were £792.4 million before tax.

Hammerson, Henderson Group and Land Securities together form the Birmingham Alliance who are responsible for the Bull Ring Shopping Centre development, Martineau Place and the up-coming Martineau Galleries development.