Hammerson agrees sale of One London Wall

Hammerson and its joint venture partner Kajima have agreed to sell the long leasehold interest in the 18,500 m² office scheme One London Wall for £136 mln (EUR 180.4 mln). The buyer is One London Wall, which is owned by German insurance company Hansainvest. The office generates an annual rental income of £7.7 mln (EUR 10.2 mln), reflecting an initial yield of 5.6%.

Separately, Hammerson's development in a JV with GE Capital and Bank of Ireland at 125 Old Broad Street, London has acquired its first tenant. The French law firm Gide Loyrette Nouel has signed a 14-year lease for 3,100 m² of office space.

The announcement of Hammerson’s year-end results for 2007 show a rising rental income set against lower capital returns on the UK market. Their net rental income of £275.7 mln (EUR 365.7 mln) was more than a 16% increase on the year before while a like-for-like rental income growth of 7.4% led to rises of 24.1% in adjusted profit before tax and of 22.9% in adjusted earnings per share. On the company’s two principal markets their capital returns in France came in at 16.5% while their 4% return in the UK in the first half of 2007 dropped to a negative capital return of 7% in the latter half of the year.