// Hammerson offloads Abbotsinch Retail Park, Paisley to Ashby Capital for £67m
// Abbotsinch Retail Park is 5 miles west of Glasgow and covers 264,792sq ft of floor space
// Hammerson first acquired the site in in 2012 for £42 million
Hammerson has exchanged contracts for the sale of Abbotsinch Retail Park, Paisley to Ashby Capital for £67 million.
The shopping centre giant said the sale price represents a net initial yield of 7.8 per cent and is three per cent below book value as at June 30.
Covering 264,792sq ftof floor space, Abbotsinch Retail Park is located five miles west of Glasgow and is fully let to retailers such as anchor B&Q, Dunelm, Tapi and Natuzzi.
Hammerson acquired the site in 2012 for £42 million and has added over 93,646sq ft of retail floor space through phased developments, at a cost of £17 million.
READ MORE:
- Hammerson, British Land & Intu commit to new climate change initiative
- Birmingham’s Grand Central to receive £2m upgrade
- Hammerson unveils City Quarters concept next to Leeds’ Victoria Gate
This expansion brought eight new retailers onto the scheme, increasing the tenant line up from six to 14, and cemented Abbotsinch Retail Park position as the leading furniture and homeware retail park in Scotland.
As a result of these works, the average rent per square foot rose from £17.78 in 2012 to £20.95 in 2019.
Together with the sale of a major stake in its Italie Deux flagship destination in Paris for £423 million in July, and additional retail park disposals, this transaction means that Hammerson has now exceeded its minimum disposal target, of in excess of £500 million in the year, having achieved £523 million of sales in total.
“Our absolute priority is to reduce debt, and with this deal we have exceeded our target of over £500 million in disposals in 2019,” Hammerson chief executive David Atkins said.
“We continue to progress negotiations on additional assets across the portfolio. Disposals enable us to prove the value of this business and strengthen our balance sheet, and also give us the flexibility to benefit from the opportunities that will arise in the coming years, particularly with regards to our City Quarters pipeline.”
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter
