European listed retail specialist Corio has advanced its programme of non-core asset disposals by selling two shopping centres to a new Spanish REIT.
European listed retail specialist Corio has advanced its programme of non-core asset disposals by selling two shopping centres to a new Spanish REIT.
Lar España Real Estate, one of the new breed of Spanish real estate investment trusts or SOCIMIs, bought the assets for over €39 mln. Corio said that the properties have been sold at the end-2013 book value.
The assets are Txingudi in Irun, in the Basque region, and Las Huertas in the north-western city of Palencia. The two centres provide a total of 16,200 m2 of gross lettable area.
Including this transaction, Corio has now sold 29 projects for in total €621 mln to a variety of buyers since the start of the disposal programme at the beginning of 2013. Earlier this year it sold a 10-asset shopping centre portfolio in the Netherlands to US investor Mount Kellett Capital Management for a discount approaching 30%.
Corio is selling off smaller assets to concentrate on owning and operating larger shopping centres - dubbed Favourite Meeting Places - which are dominant in their catchment area. Since year-end 2012, the relative size in value of the Favourite Meeting Places in Corio's portfolio has increased to around 91% from 83%.
In Italy, Corio is believed to be selling Il Maestrale retail gallery in Senigallia, Central Italy. JLL has been mandated to divest the scheme which was bought in 2003 for just over €23 mln.
