US investor Mount Kellet Capital Management has completed the joint venture acquisition of 10 shopping centres in the Netherlands from Corio at a discount approaching 30%.

US investor Mount Kellet Capital Management has completed the joint venture acquisition of 10 shopping centres in the Netherlands from Corio at a discount approaching 30%.

Amsterdam-listed shopping centre specialist Corio announced on Monday that it had sold the 10 small-to-medium sized shopping centres, mainly outside the metropolitan areas in the Netherlands, and one in France for a total of €213 mln.

The 11 assets have a total leasable area of 120,800 m2. The consideration for the disposals is 27% below the book value of 30 June 2013. Corio said that in executing these sales, it has increased the average size of its shopping centres, increased occupancy rates and pushed leverage down.

The Dutch portfolio has been acquired by a joint venture of Mount Kellett Capital Management and Dutch fund manager Sectie5 Investments. The buyer of the French shopping centre, Les Portes de Cheuvreuse (25,000 m2) in Coigniéres, was not disclosed.

Corio said that after finalising these disposals, it is ahead of schedule on its disposal programme in the Netherlands and France. 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. The relative size in value of the Favourite Meeting Places in Corio's portfolio has increased to around 91% from 83% (year-end 2012).

Including these transactions, Corio has sold 26 projects for a total €545 mln to a variety of buyers since the start of the programme.

The latest Dutch shopping centres to be sold are:

- Aarhof (9,400 m2) in Alphen aan den Rijn
- Reigerbos (12,500 m2) in Amsterdam
- Slangenburg (1,500 m2) in Dordrecht
- De Hovel (5,400 m2) in Goirle
- Corio Center (18,400 m2) in Heerlen
- Meubelplein (13,800 m2) in Leiderdorp
- Kopspijker/Stadsplein/Kolkplein (17,700 m2) in Spijkenisse
- Kerkstraat (2,800 m2) in Tegelen
- City Passage (7,400 m22) in Veldhoven
- Belcour (6,900 m2) in Zeist

Corio will publish its 2013 results after close of trade on 12 February 2014.