Hammerson plc has exchanged contracts for the sale of two assets for a total of £87m (€119.4m), including the wholly owned shopping centre Monument Mall in Newcastle-upon-Tyne to the Standard Life Investments UK Property for over £75m (€102.0m).
Hammerson acquired Monument Mall in 2011 as part of a retail portfolio acquisition from St. Martins Property Investments Limited for £28m (€38.4m). Located in the centre of Newcastle, it’s main frontages open onto the prime retailing pitches of Northumberland Street and Blackett Street.
Hammerson completed a reconfiguration of the centre in 2013, creating eight new large MSUs, transforming it into a high quality shopping and dining destination. As a result the centre secured a number of high-end retail and leisure brands such as Michael Kors, The White Company Hugo Boss, Reiss, Jack Wills, Kiehl's and Rox, alongside the existing brands including TK Maxx and Sports Direct. The centre is fully-let with 15 well configured units covering 138,000ft² (12,820m²).
David Atkins commented: "Monument Mall is a great example of how Hammerson uses its development and asset management skills to transform retail venues and deliver strong returns to shareholders. The proceeds from the sale will be used to part fund our recent acquisition of the Jewel portfolio of loans in Dublin. We are on track with further transactions to complete the first tranche of £200 million of disposals in Q1 2016."
