Hammerson plc has announced that it has exchanged contracts to sell the Villebon 2 retail park to a consortium of leading French institutional investors for €159m (£116m), ahead of the 30 June 2015 book value.
Located in Villebon-sur-Yvette, in the south of Paris region, the 47,500m2 retail park, acquired in 2005 for £104m and fully owned by Hammerson, has 46 tenants, 1,875 parking spaces and is anchored by FNAC, Darty and Toys'R'Us. The gross passing rent is €8.5m (£6.2m) and the centre is almost completely occupied.
David Atkins, chief executive of Hammerson, said: "We continue to see good investor demand for well-positioned assets in France and are pleased to have capitalised on this demand to secure a price that is well ahead of the latest book value. As previously communicated, the proceeds will be used to partially finance the recent acquisition of the Irish portfolio, anchored by Dundrum, and completes the first £200m tranche of disposals. We expect the next tranche of £300m of disposals to be completed as planned in the course of 2016."
The transaction is expected to complete in H1 2016 and is subject to usual conditions precedent.
