British Land is a London based property developer and the second largest listed in the country. It announced its acquisition of a west London office complex valued at GBP470 million. The acquisition was due to a bet that the capital's Crossrail east west train line would boost real estate prices after its opening in 2018.

British Land acquired offices, shops, a hotel and development sites from insurer Aviva at the PaddingtonCentral scheme announced on Friday. The projected rental yield was seen to grow by 6.2% following the completion of the train line.

The shares of British Land were up to 1.9% at 0830 GMT. The increase outperformed a benchmark real estate index which was increased by 0.6%.

Last March, British Land raised around GBP1 billion for new investments. This was through a share placement and sale of an office block in the financial district of London. The leading real estate developer was among the parties behind the so-called Cheesegrater skyscraper.