Unibail-Rodamco completes EUR 623m disposals in H1

Unibail-Rodamco, the largest listed real estate company in Europe, has confirmed that it is in negotiations on the sale of EUR 160 mln of assets on top of the EUR 623 mln of disposals contracted in the first half of 2010 and completed. The completed disposals included non-strategic retail assets in the Netherlands, the 168 Charles de Gaulle office building in Neuilly and Saint-Martial shopping centre in Limoges, France.

In an update on its financial figures for the nine months to end-September 2010, Unibail-Rodamco said turnover for the period amounted to EUR 1.18 bn compared to EUR 1.21 bn a year ago. In July the group increased its stake in Euralille shopping centre in Lille, France from 40% to 76% for a consideration of EUR 44.3 mln. This 67,000-m² GLA mall attracts over 11 million visits a year. The group has also completed the EUR 715 mln Simon Ivanhoe portfolio. The portfolio includes three major assets, two in Warsaw and one in Paris region as well as a development project portfolio in France owned in a 50-50 joint-venture with Simon Property and Ivanhoe Cambridge.

Tenant sales in Unibail-Rodamco’s shopping centres grew by 2.8% for the nine-month period. All regions reported positive sales increases since the beginning of 2010 compared to last year. Gross rental income for the first nine months amounted to EUR 792.9 mln, compared to EUR 788.4 mln during the same period last year. The significant disposals of smaller non-strategic assets mainly in the Netherlands and in France were only partly compensated by the positive impact of the Simon Ivanhoe portfolio acquisition in July 2010. In the office sector, gross rental income in France stood at EUR 134.1 mln at end-September, compared to EUR 136.2 mln last year mainly due to the disposals of three offices buildings.