Swedish retailer Coop Butiker & Stormarknader, which acquired grocer Netto's Swedish operations in May, has unveiled plans to sell off Netto's property portfolio, comprising some 115 assets.
Financial details have not been disclosed.
'Today, Coop stores lease their premises from external property owners – a successful and well proven model,' said Christian Wijkström, CEO of Coop Butiker & Stormarknader.
'It therefore feels natural to adopt the same model when the Netto stores now become a part of Coop. I look forward to a close collaboration where we become tenants to a new property owner. Coop intends to sign long-term leases and make significant investments in the new store concept,' Wijkström added.
The Coop deal for Netto in May saw the retailer pick up 163 Netto-branded stores, of which 115 are owned outright. The stores have a total area of 120,000 m2, with an average retail space of about 1,080 m2. The properties are spread across 88 locations, mostly in Southern Sweden.
According to Coop, almost 83% of the modern property portfolio was either constructed or renovated in the last 15 years.
Following the group takeover, Coop recently re-opened three Netto stores under a new Coop concept. It said that it planned to convert all stores to Coop stores by the summer of 2020.
Swedbank Corporate Finance and EY Corporate Finance are advising Coop on the sales process.
