Hammerson is to sell its entire office portfolio worth EUR 735 mln and refocus as a specialist retail group operating in the UK and France, the UK REIT said at the presentation of its 2011 earnings last week.
Hammerson is to sell its entire office portfolio worth EUR 735 mln and refocus as a specialist retail group operating in the UK and France, the UK REIT said at the presentation of its 2011 earnings last week.
'Following the review of our strategy we will focus on being the best owner-manager and developer of retail property within Europe,' chief executive David Atkins said in a statement. 'We now intend to sell our standing office investments over the medium term to maximise returns, redeploying capital into the retail sector to exploit our expertise and build on our existing scale. This will create efficiencies that lead to further cost savings and income growth from our portfolio.'
Hammerson intends to complete the disposal programme over the next three years. It will proceed with office projects in progress, valued at £75.3 mln at the end of last year, before selling them as well, he said. In total, offices represent 11% of the company's portfolio.
At the presentation of its 2011 financial results, Hammerson reported a 2.2% decline in full-year profit excluding items, while its occupancy rate rose to above target at 97.9.%. The company signed over £650 mln (EUR 768 mln) in new credit facilities last year, contributing to liquidity of over £700 mln.
