Update on Property Sales Programme

RNS Number : 5241E

Local Shopping REIT (The) PLC

12 February 2018

 

The Local Shopping REIT plc

Update on Property Sales Programme

The Board of The Local Shopping REIT plc ("the Company") is pleased to announce that it has exchanged contracts for the sale of a portfolio of four properties, for a cash consideration of £9.465 million.  lt is anticipated that the sale will be completed over the next week. The sale price represents a 5.8% discount to carrying value of the assets before sales costs.

The Company also recently exchanged contracts for the sale of a portfolio of six small properties in Kingston upon Hull for a consideration of £0.475 million at a discount of 5.5% to carrying values.

ln addition to these portfolio transactions, since the last update on the sales programme in the Company's annual results announcement, the Company has completed sales, or exchanged at auction, on a further six properties for an aggregate sale price of £0.852 million, representing a 9.8% premium to carrying value before sales costs.

The sales costs associated with these disposals is estimated to be 1.4% of the prices agreed, including agent's fees, legal fees and associated irrecoverable VAT relating to non VAT-elected properties or residential elements.  This will result in an estimated 6.2% realised loss on sale for these 16 properties.

Net sales proceeds will be used in repayment of the banking facility, which will result in the loan balance falling to approximately £10.9 million.

The sales described above bring total property sales, contracted or completed, under the Company's realisation strategy to £126.6 million, with 513 assets sold.  The company now owns 151 properties, where we are yet to exchange contracts for sale, reflecting £42.7m in aggregate value.

We continue to progress disposals via auctions, with 18 properties scheduled for auction before the end of March.  A number of private treaty sales of individual properties are also in hand and the Company will seek to dispose of further small portfolios of assets where appropriate.

[ENDS]

Enquiries:

Rupert Wallman, Fund Manager                                                        [phone]

Bill Heaney, Company Secretary                                                        [phone]

 

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