Disposal of Sainsbury's Superstores

RNS Number : 7098W

British Land Co PLC

23 April 2019

 

British Land exchanges on the disposal of £429m of Sainsbury's superstores

British Land is pleased to announce it has exchanged on the sale of 12 superstores from its joint venture with Sainsbury's for £429m, representing a net initial yield of 5.0%, to Realty Income Corporation. Our share of the proceeds will be £193.5m¹ representing a modest premium to September 2018 book value.

This is the latest example of how we are delivering against our clear long-term strategy to build an increasingly mixed-use business focused on three core elements: campus focused London offices; a smaller, refocused Retail business and Residential, principally build to rent. As part of this, we expect Retail to comprise c.30-35% of the assets of our business, down from around half today. 

Alongside investment into our campuses and progressing unique development opportunities such as Canada Water, we are focused on further sales of retail assets which are not aligned to our strategy and continue to make good progress. We have a clear view of the value of our assets and despite the clear challenges currently in the retail market, we remain opportunistic and proactive. As a result, we have exchanged or completed on nearly £1bn of retail assets sales (£646m our share) since April 2018 at an average yield of 5.7% on terms marginally ahead of book value.  This activity has included the sale of Debenham's Clapham and the Spirit pubs portfolio.

Once the transaction completes, which is expected at the end of May, our superstores exposure will fall to 1.3% of our portfolio based on September 2018 valuations with 6 standalone stores remaining.  Net proceeds to British Land are expected to be c.£95m following the repayment of debt and associated break costs. 

Note 1: Proceeds to British Land are net of re-gearing the leases

Enquiries:
Investor Relations
David Walker, British Land		020 7467 3418
Media
Claire Scicluna, British Land		020 7467 2823
Guy Lamming & Gordon Simpson, Finsbury Group		020 7251 3801

Notes to Editors

About British Land

Our portfolio of high quality UK commercial property is focused on Retail around the UK and London Offices.  We own or manage a portfolio valued at £16.8bn (British Land share: £12.9bn) as at 30 September 2018 making us one of Europe's largest listed real estate investment companies.

Our strategy is to provide places which meet the needs of our customers and respond to changing lifestyles - Places People Prefer.  We do this by creating great environments both inside and outside our buildings and use our scale and placemaking skills to enhance and enliven them.  This expands their appeal to a broader range of occupiers, creating enduring demand and driving sustainable, long term performance.

Our Retail portfolio is focused on Regional and Local multi-let centres, and accounts for 49% of our portfolio.  Our Offices portfolio comprises three office-led campuses in central London as well as high quality standalone buildings and accounts for 48% of our portfolio.  Increasingly our focus is on providing a mix of uses and this is most evident at Canada Water, our 53 acre redevelopment opportunity where we have plans to create a new neighbourhood for London.

Sustainability is embedded throughout our business. Our places, which are designed to meet high sustainability standards, become part of local communities, provide opportunities for skills development and employment and promote wellbeing.  In April 2016 British Land received the Queen's Award for Enterprise: Sustainable Development, the UK's highest accolade for business success for economic, social and environmental achievements over a period of five years.

Further details can be found on the British Land website at www.britishland.com   

 

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