13th Jun 2008 15:32
British Land Sells The Peacocks, Woking
British Land has exchanged contracts with a private investor to sell its Woking Shopping Centre, The Peacocks, for £116 million, reflecting a net initial yield of 5.75% and in line with the March 2008 valuation.
The Peacocks offers a mix of 72 retailers and 5 anchor stores all located within almost half a million sq ft of retail and leisure space.
Andrew Jones, British Land Director and Head of Retail, said: "We are in a difficult investment market at the moment; however we are continuing to successfully implement our disposal strategy and have achieved an attractive price for a good asset. This sale is in line with our strategy to focus the retail portfolio towards those assets which we believe will benefit the most from our occupier-led strategy."
Notes to Editors:
British Land is the UK's second largest Real Estate Investment Trust with total assets, owned or under management, of £17.9 billion, as at 31 March 2008.
The portfolio, focused on the Out of Town Retail and London Office sectors, has the longest leases (average 14.7 years) and the highest occupancy rates (99 per cent) of the major UK REITs.
Retail assets account for 59 per cent of the portfolio, 80 per cent of which is in prime out-of-town locations. Offices account for 39 per cent of the portfolio, of which 98 per cent is London-based. A 4.5 million sq ft office and retail development pipeline complements these holdings.
British Land's owned and managed retail assets are valued at circa £11.5 billion as at 31 March 2008. In-town shopping centres account for 5 per cent of retail assets.
The Peacocks is anchored by a 137,000 sq ft Debenhams store, in addition to Marks & Spencer, Primark, Toys R Us, Woolworth and TK Maxx.
Ends
Date: Friday, 13 June, 2008
Media enquiries: Laura De Vere tel: 020 7467 2920 mobile: 07739 292920
Investor enquiries: Amanda Jones: tel: 020 7467 2946
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