British Land sells London retail building after Brexit vote

July 7 (Reuters) - Property company British Land (LSE: BLND.L - news) said it had exchanged contracts to sell a Debenhams store located in London's West End shopping district to a private investor, a sign that deals were still being struck in a sector gripped with concerns around the impact of Brexit.

The sale price for the seven storey building on Oxford Street was 400 million pounds ($517 million), the UK's second-largest listed property developer said in a statement after London markets closed on Thursday.

British Land, known for its flagship "Cheesegrater" skyscraper in London's financial district, said it had also exchanged contracts on retail disposals worth 99 million pounds since March 31, ahead of the valuations seen then.

Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) in British Land closed up over 3 percent at about 565 pence on Thursday. Since Britain voted to leave the European Union, its stock is down by a quarter amid mounting concerns that demand to rent and buy commercial property could be hit.

In one of the first signs of strain in the sector, more than 18 billion pounds of retail investor cash has been frozen in the last week as several property funds suspended trading after a wave of investors asked for their money back.

Three fund managers cut the value of their UK property funds and a fourth extended a 24-hour trading suspension on Thursday, as panic continued to mount amid growing speculation that property prices would be forced down as some such funds would move to sell some of their buildings.

However, British Land said on Thursday it had a "strong, resilient business" and that since the vote it had exchanged 11 long-term retail leases totalling 50,000 square feet and 2.1 million pounds of rent on terms agreed prior to the referendum.

Overall, the lettings were 4.7 percent ahead of their estimated rental values as of March, it added.

"British Land has entered this period of post-referendum uncertainty in a robust position... We have a modern portfolio which is well suited to current and future customer needs," CEO Chris Grigg said in a statement. ($1 = 0.7738 pounds) (Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru, editing by David Evans)