Property giant Hammerson PLC’s (LON:HMSO) phased withdrawal from UK retail properties has continued with the sale of seven retail parks for £400mln.
The retail parks has been sold to Orion European Real Estate Fund V. The parks sold are: Central Retail Park (Falkirk); Cleveland Retail Park (Middlesbrough); Cyfarthfa Retail Park (Merthyr Tydfil); Elliott's Field Shopping Park (Rugby); Forge Shopping Park (Telford); Ravenhead Retail Park (St Helens); and The Orchard Centre (Didcot)
In a separate transaction, Parc Tawe in Swansea and Abbey Retail Park in Belfast have been sold individually generating proceeds totalling £55mln.
Combined with the portfolio sale of seven retail parks, the £455mln of disposals represents a net initial yield of 8.7%, with a discount to the June 2019 book value of 22.2%.
"Against a challenged retail and investment backdrop we have exited the retail parks sector. Having achieved disposals of close to £1bn since the beginning of 2019, our focus remains on strengthening our balance sheet to create further resilience,” said David Atkins, the chief executive of Hammerson.
“The completion of this strategic disposal enables us to create a more concentrated portfolio of flagship venues, premium outlets and City Quarters which we expect will deliver greater levels of both income stability and growth over the medium term," he added.