Disposal of Monument Mall, Newcastle

RNS Number : 6372J

Hammerson PLC

21 December 2015

 

Hammerson plc (the 'Company')

21 December 2015

Disposal of Monument Mall, Newcastle

Hammerson plc ("Hammerson") has exchanged contracts for the sale of two assets for a total of £87 million, including its wholly owned shopping centre Monument Mall in Newcastle-upon-Tyne to the Standard Life Investments UK Property Fund for gross proceeds of £75 million.

Monument Mall, located in the heart of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, was acquired in 2011 for £28 million. In 2013 Hammerson completed a reconfiguration of the centre creating eight new large MSUs, transforming it into a high-quality shopping and dining destination. As a result the centre secured a number of high-end retail and leisure brands such as Michael Kors, The White Company, Hugo Boss, Reiss, Jack Wills, Kiehl's and Rox, alongside the existing brands including TK Maxx and Sports Direct. The centre is now fully-let with 15 well-configured units covering 138,000 sq ft.

The disposal value is above the 30 June 2015 book value representing a net initial yield of 4.3% and crystallises a £24 million (46%) profit on cost for Hammerson.

Hammerson has also sold a small land interest in Kingston-upon-Thames to St George for £12 million.

David Atkins commented:

"Monument Mall is a great example of how Hammerson uses its development and asset management skills to transform retail venues and deliver strong returns to shareholders. The proceeds from the sale will be used to part fund our recent acquisition of the Jewel portfolio of loans in Dublin. We are on track with further transactions to complete the first tranche of £200 million of disposals in Q1 2016."

ENDS

For further information:

David Atkins, CEO

Tel: [phone]

Rebecca Patton, Head of Investor Relations

Tel: [phone]

Notes to Editors

Hammerson is a FTSE 100 owner, manager and developer of retail destinations in Europe. Our portfolio of high-quality retail property has a value of around £7.7 billion and includes 20 prime shopping centres, 21 convenient retail parks and investments in 15 premium outlet villages, through our partnership with Value Retail and the VIA Outlets joint venture. Hammerson has also recently acquired a platform of loans secured against high quality retail in Dublin, Ireland.

 

END

 

 

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