Hammerson has exchanged unconditional contracts on the portfolio sale of its seven retail park assets to Brookfield for €381.9m (£330m). This transaction concludes Hammerson's exit from the UK retail parks sector. The portfolio comprises 205,000m² of space across the following retail parks:
· Central Retail Park (Falkirk)
· Cleveland Retail Park (Middlesbrough)
· Cyfarthfa Retail Park (Merthyr Tydfil)
· Elliott's Field Shopping Park (Rugby)
· Telford Forge Shopping Park (Telford)
· Ravenhead Retail Park (St Helens)
· The Orchard Centre (Didcot)
As previously announced, Hammerson has also recently disposed of Brent South Shopping Park (€25.5m (£22m) at Hammerson share) and its minority interests in Nicetoile and Espace Saint Quentin for €84.5m (£73m), these were in line with 31 December 2020 valuations. The transaction announced today takes the total gross proceeds of Hammerson's disposals in 2021 to €466.4m (£403m) at an average discount to 31 December 2020 valuations of 6%.
The proceeds of these disposals will further strengthen the balance sheet, reducing net debt, which was €2.5bn (£2.2bn) at 31 December 2020, and increasing liquidity, which stood at c.€2bn (£1.7bn) at the same date.
Rita-Rose Gagné, Chief Executive of Hammerson, said: "As highlighted at the full-year results, our immediate priority is to strengthen the balance sheet. This latest disposal is a positive step. Alongside this, we continue to focus on delivering operationally. We have successfully welcomed back our customers in England to our flagship venues, with footfall levels well above the June 2020 reopening, and look forward to reopening our other destinations as local restrictions allow over the coming months."
