London-based reai estate company Home REIT has agreed the sale of 137 properties worth £22.8 mln (€26.3 mln) and accounting for 5.6% of its property portfolio.
The divestments were conducted through a series of public auctions and completion is expected in one month’s time.
The company’s investment manager, AEW, identified a portfolio of properties that were in ‘poor condition, largely vacant and requiring significant capital expenditure in order to be brought up to specification.’
Of the 137 properties that will be sold, 100 were subject to leases with tenants in liquidation, which will be surrendered prior to completion.
The proceeds from the properties sold, which averaged 32% of their purchase price, will be used to reduce borrowings and provide working capital.
The divestments are part of AEW's strategy to stabilise Home REIT’s property portfolio.
Home REIT shares were suspended in January after failing to publish its annual report, and the company does not expect to publish its accounts until the end of 2023 at the earliest.
The divestments come just a week after Home REIT announced that Redemption Project CIC agreed to surrender its leases on 146 properties, which equates to around 6% of Home REIT's portfolio by number of properties.
Home REIT invests in the provision of sheltered housing for homeless people throughout the UK.
