Hammerson to sell entire portfolio of UK retail parks

British property giant Hammerson is selling all seven of its retail parks to Canadian investment firm Brookfield in a move that concludes its exit from the UK retail parks sector.

The deal is worth 330 million pounds, eight percent lower than the December 31 2020 book value of 357 million pounds.

As previously announced, Hammerson has also recently disposed of its Brent South Shopping Park and its minority interests in Nicetoile and Espace Saint Quentin.

Hammerson said it will use the proceeds of these disposals to further strengthen its balance sheet by reduce its net debt, which was 2.2 billion pounds at the end of last year, while also increasing liquidity, which stood at 1.7 billion pounds at the same date.

Hammerson exits UK retail parks sector

The company’s CEO Rita-Rose Gagné said in a statement: “As highlighted at the full year results, our immediate priority is to strengthen the balance sheet. This latest disposal is a positive step.

“Alongside this, we continue to focus on delivering operationally. We have successfully welcomed back our customers in England to our flagship venues, with footfall levels well above the June 2020 reopening, and look forward to reopening our other destinations as local restrictions allow over the coming months.”

The news of the sale comes just a day after Hammerson revealed it had collected less than half of net rental income due in the second quarter of the year.

At group level, 40 percent of rent due had been received, with the UK collecting 48 percent, France 23 percent, and Ireland 34 percent. An aggregate 46 percent of H1 2021 rent due has been collected.

The company said initial footfall recovery in England since non-essential stores were permitted to reopen last week has been “encouraging” and around 90 percent of operators are currently able to trade.

Footfall is “competitive with pre-pandemic levels”, with footfall at its English flagships at around four-fifths of the level achieved in the same week in April 2019 across a seven-day average.