23rd Apr 2019 08:00
LONDON (Alliance News) - Property company British Land Co PLC on Tuesday said it has sold 12 superstores in its joint venture with supermarket chain J Sainsbury PLC for GBP429 million, reflecting a net initial yield of 5.0%.
The stores have been sold to US-based commercial real estate investment trust Realty Income Corp, with FTSE 100-listed British Land receiving GBP193.5 million in proceeds from the sale.
It has not been disclosed how much Sainsbury's will receive from the deal.
The disposal is expected to be completed at the end of May. As a result, British Land's retail assets will comprise of 30% to 35% of the group's total assets, down from around half on Tuesday.
In addition, the group's superstores exposure will fall to 1.3% of its total portfolio, and will now consist of six standalone stores.
The sale is part of British Land's strategy to form a more mixed-use business, comprising of campus-focused London offices, Residential assets which are mostly build to rent, and a smaller, refocused Retail business.
The company also said recent retail sales include the sale of Debenhams in Clapham and the Spirit pubs portfolio.
"Alongside investment into our campuses and progressing unique development opportunities such as Canada Water, we are focused on further sales of retail assets which are not aligned to our strategy and continue to make good progress. We have a clear view of the value of our assets and despite the clear challenges currently in the retail market, we remain opportunistic and proactive," British Land said in a statement.
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