Disposal and quarterly valuation

RNS Number : 2576J

Capital & Regional plc

15 July 2013

 



15 July 2013

Capital & Regional plc

£152.5m Disposal of Mall properties in Uxbridge and Sutton Coldfield

and Quarterly Fund Valuation

Capital & Regional plc ('C&R') today announces that the Mall Fund has completed the disposals of The Gracechurch Centre, Sutton Coldfield, and The Pavilions, Uxbridge, for a combined consideration of £152.5 million.

The Gracechurch Centre, Sutton Coldfield was sold to M&G Real Estate for £88.0 million representing an initial yield of 7.75%.  The Pavilions, Uxbridge was acquired by LaSalle Investment Management for £64.5 million, representing an initial yield of 7.70%.

Following the disposals the Fund's debt will be reduced to approximately £383 million and the proforma LTV to 57%.

These sales mark the successful completion of the strategy to dispose of non-core shopping centres to reduce the debt in the Mall to a level that can be refinanced on more attractive terms. The Mall's six remaining assets, comprising over 3 million sq ft, are strong schemes offering attractive and affordable space, as reflected in their resilience in the latest valuation at 30 June 2013.

Quarterly Fund Valuation

At the portfolio level, investment yields have remained stable in the quarter, with a small reduction from the March 2013 valuations, largely resulting from the modest discounts at which the sales of Uxbridge and Sutton Coldfield were completed.

Details of the 30 June 2013 valuation are as follows:

Fund	Valuation of    properties	Underlying valuation change in period 1	Change in unit value (geared) in period	Net initial yield	Unit value at 30 June  2013	Unit value at 31 March 2013	C&R % of fund 2
The Mall Fund	£829,050,000	(1.31)%	(2.3)%	7.03%	£0.3729	£0.3815	20.3%

¹  The underlying valuation change shows the like for like decrease in the value of the portfolio in the quarter as a percentage of the value of the portfolio at the beginning of the period.

²  At 30 June 2013, Capital & Regional owned 191,623,116 units in The Mall Fund.

Hugh Scott-Barrett, Chief Executive of Capital & Regional plc, commented:

"The disposal of the two schemes is a key moment in deleveraging The Mall. The sales significantly increase our options for the refinancing of the CMBS.

"We believe that the six remaining centres, with creative asset management from our highly skilled and experienced specialist teams, offer the potential to deliver growth in income and attractive capital returns."

A full trading update will be provided in the Group's 2013 interim results which will be released in mid-August.

- ENDS -

For further information:

Capital & Regional:
Hugh Scott-Barrett, Chief Executive	Tel:  [phone]
Charles Staveley, Group Finance Director	Tel:  [phone]
FTI Consulting:
Stephanie Highett Richard Sunderland Will Henderson Aleka Bhutiani	Tel: [phone]

 

Notes to editors:

 

About Capital & Regional plc

Capital & Regional is a specialist property company with a track record of developing asset management opportunities in town centre shopping centres and out of town retail parks.

Capital & Regional founded The Mall in conjunction with Aviva Investors. Capital & Regional acts as Property and Asset Manager for the Mall and holds 20.3% of this fund.

Capital & Regional & AREA Property Partners each hold a 50% interest in a German retail property portfolio which is managed by Garigal Asset Management GmbH, in which Capital & Regional holds a 30% interest. 

Capital & Regional has a number of other joint ventures and wholly-owned properties.

For further information, please see www.capreg.com.

 

END

 

 

DISRTMATMBMBBPJ