Vastned, the Amsterdam-listed retail property specialist, has completed the sale of its €100 mln portfolio in Turkey, and launched a €50 mln share buy-back.
Vastned received the total proceeds of the sale of its holdings in Istanbul on 11 April 2017.
This comes about a month after Vastned and a group of local private investors signed an agreement for the divestment of the Turkish business, Vastned Emlak, through the sale of the shares in the entity.
Vastned said on Wednesday that it would use up to €50 mln of the proceeds to commence a share buy-back by means of a Dutch auction.
Portfolio
The company had a portfolio valued at €1.2 bn spread across high street stores in in key cities in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain and Turkey at end-2016.
At the beginning of last year the portfolio included €133 mln worth of assets in Istanbul's prime shopping district, including the 2,500 m2 H&M store at 85 Istiklal Caddesi and the 2,000 m² asset housing fashion brand Koton at Istasyon Caddesi.
But announcing its 2016 results last month, Vastned said it was taking a €33 mln writedown on the Turkish holdings and leaving the market after 10 years.
The main reasons for the exit were the uncertain geopolitical and economic situation, declining consumer spending, and the fact that many tourists - a major source of income for the Turkish economy - were avoiding the country. Another factor, the company said, was that the negative movement of the exchange rate of the Turkish lira versus the euro had increased effective rental costs, putting rents under pressure in the coming years, which are paid in euros.
Following the divestment, Vastned is sharpening its focus on high streets in top 5 cities in Western Europe.
Read the analysis - Vastned calls it quits in Turkey, but Multi stays put
