EUROPE - The €6bn property investment company Corio has decided to explore the divestment of a major part of its offices and industrial portfolios, and to further focus on its retail activities.

The office and industrial portfolios in Corio's main countries, the Netherlands and France, could be sold either as a total package or in separate parts, chief executive Jan de Kreij said during the presentation of the firm's first-half figures.

"However, parts of the office and industrial portfolios which are closely related to retail might be excluded from the sale," De Kreij added.

He referred explicitly to offices in shopping centre Hoog Catharijne in Utrecht, of which Corio is the main owner.

According to De Kreij, the value of the combined office and industrial portfolios in the Netherlands is approximately €750m while combined portfolios in France total €326m.

Corio's total offices and industrial portfolios total €875m and €231m respectively, with occupancy rates of 90.4% and 97.5% respectively.

During "one of the best half-years ever", as De Kreij described it,  Corio's net rental income increased by 11.9% to €157.5m. Its overall like-for-like net rental growth was 5.5%, of which 7% for its retail portfolio.

Corio reported direct and indirect investment results per share of €1.48 and €3.65 respectively. Its triple NAV per share increased by 23.2% to €54.83 while the value of the property portfolio rose by €1.2bn during the first six months and an external net valuation amounted to €266m, which is an increase of 4.6% of the portfolio value, Corio said.

Its fixed pipeline grew by €454m to €1.17bn, while the variable pipeline decreased by one-third to €639m and the average occupancy rate of Corio's overall portfolio rose by 0.3% to 96.3% while the occupancy rate of its retail sector is 97.7%.

Corio is an investor and manager of retail centres mainly in the Netherlands and France, but also has properties in Italy, Spain, Turkey and Germany.

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