- Angela Gonzalez-Rodriguez
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New York – British town Fife’s Central Retail Park has been sold as part
of a 400 million pounds disposal deal announced by property giant
Hammerson. The latter is said to be moving towards exiting the sector.
The shopping centre is one of seven sites sold to the Orion European
Real Estate Fund.
Hammerson said the deal is the largest UK retail parks portfolio sale in
the past decade. It follows the group’s strategic decision announced in
July 2018 to exit the retail parks sector. The group has sold 14 retail
parks since the change in strategy, generating sales proceeds of 764
million pounds to reduce the group’s debt and further strengthen the
balance sheet, reports ‘The Insider’.
In a corporate release, David Atkins, Hammerson’s chief executive, said:
“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. 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.”
