Following a comprehensive business review, Hammerson has announced its reshaped strategy to elevate and accelerate performance with a higher quality portfolio of winning destinations, enhanced by greater levels of operational excellence and capital efficiency. As a part of the strategy, the company will exit the retail parks sector, increasing its disposal target to €672.3m (£600m) by the end of this year, and €1.2bn (£1.1bn) by end of 2019.
David Atkins, Chief Executive of Hammerson, said: "Our reshaped strategy sees us taking decisive action to further reposition our portfolio. Through increasing the level of disposals, including exiting the retail parks sector, we will now focus solely on winning destinations of the highest quality: Flagship retail destinations and Premium Outlets. These are the venues we believe will maintain relevance and outperform against the shifting retail backdrop. Our customer and retailer offer will be amplified, and this includes a step change in our retailer line up. We will reduce the amount of floor space let to department stores and high street fashion as we actively focus on the latest consumer trends and take bolder steps to provide the best retail mix. Our results today demonstrate the resilience of our business. We are taking tough decisions and have absolute conviction in our ability to deliver. By reprioritising our capital deployment and repositioning our portfolio, we will accelerate future shareholder value and returns."
