Oct 2 (Reuters) - Property firm British Land Co Plc ( BRLAF )

said on Wednesday it has acquired a portfolio of seven

retail parks from Brookfield Asset Management ( BAM ) for 441

million pounds ($585.34 million), increasing its position in the

retail park market.

The Broadgate owner has been doubling down on its

investments in retail parks since 2021 as its core business of

office-focused campuses still recovers from steep valuation

declines in the aftermath of the Covid pandemic and the

ill-timed UK mini-budget of 2022.

The company also announced a proposed equity placing to

raise about 300 million pounds via an accelerated bookbuild to

help fund the deal, alongside existing cash and in-place

facilities.

The London-listed firm, now the UK's largest direct owner

and operator of retail parks, said it expects underlying profit

of 142 million-144 million pounds for the six months ending

Sept. 30.

The deal and proposed placing is expected to be accretive to

earnings per share in FY25 and beyond.

($1 = 0.7533 pounds)