Listed Dutch retail property company Vastned is selling its Turkish business and pulling out of the market as part of its strategy of focusing on five major European cities.
Commenting on the move in a strategy update on Thursday, Vastned CEO Taco de Groot said the divestment of the Turkish portfolio 'clearly adds to the further stability of the portfolio'.
'The current geopolitical, political, and economic situation in Turkey and the expectation that it will not improve in the short to medium term, makes its less attractive for retailers to be present in Istanbul, putting rents under pressure in the future', he said.
The news comes a few weeks after Vastned said it was writing down €33 mln on its portfolio in Istanbul as part of an overall €4.7 mln writedown on its total real estate portfolio last year.
Part of the proceeds of the divestment of the Turkish business will be used for a share buy-back of around €50 mln.
De Groot said Vastned’s future strategy will involve continuing to focus on ‘the best shopping streets in the best shopping cities in large European cities’. He said growth would be targeted in five selected cities: Amsterdam, Antwerp, Madrid, Paris and Barcelona.
'We will focus on growth of the clusters in these cities in a pragmatic and disciplined way, step-by-step,' he noted.
De Groot said the combination of the divestment and planned share buyback would not change the expected direct result for 2017 of €2.10 - €2.20 per share, as announced on 15 February 2017.
