Land Securities, Britain’s largest property company, has finally off-loaded Trillium, its outsourcing arm, more than a year after first announcing plans to sell the division and for 25 per cent less than the original price tag.

The company has sold Trillium for £750 million to Telereal, a rival property and investment group. Land Securities first mooted a sale of the division in November 2007, when it hoped to fetch £1 billion from the deal.

Land Securities will receive £444 million in cash from Telereal, which is controlled by the family-owned William Pears Group, following completion of the deal on January 12. The sale of Trillium does not include the Accor hotel portfolio which will remain within Land Securities.

The proceeds will be used to pay off debts and bolster the group’s balance sheet, which has been hit hard by plunging property valuations.

Francis Salway, chief executive at Land Securities, said: “We are pleased to have concluded this sale in a challenging economic environment.

“We continue to run the group with a cautious outlook and a focus on balance sheet management.”

Land Securities had been exploring splitting the company in three, into retail, its London real estate assets and Trillium.

However, in November last year, Land Securities said it would postpone the split and a spokesman confirmed today that the retail and real estate division would remain under one company despite the sale of Trillium. Property companies have been exploring ways to raise funds to see them through a tough period. British Land is also in talks to sell a stake in the Meadowhall shopping centre, one of its biggest assets.

With total assets worth around £1.6 billion, Trillium owns and manages properties on behalf of organisations in the private and public sector.

Trillium produced an underlying operating profit for the year to March 31 2008 of £102 million.

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