Hammerson sells two Kent retail parks for £80m

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
May 26, 2017

UK property developer Hammerson said Friday it has sold two retail parks in Kent, southeast England, for £80m. The company said it has exchanged contracts for the sale of Westwood and Westwood Gateway retail parks located in Thanet to clients of BMO Real Estate Partners.

The sale price represents a net initial yield of 6.5% and is slightly below its book value December 2016. The company has struggled with its retail park properties of late as falling visitor traffic to such locations has reflected tough times for UK retail.

But it is investing heavily in expanding flagship mall properties and on this week announced plans for a £1.4bn revamp of the giant Brent Cross mall on the outskirts of London.

Of the Thanet properties being sold, it said that it had transformed the retail offer since acquisition (im 2002) and significantly increased rents. The parks cover a total of 24,900 sq m, and benefit from a strong line-up of homewares retailers including Homebase, Wren, Tapi, SCS and Dunelm, Hammerson said. They also host giant stores Matalan and Sports Direct.