// Hammerson sells its 75% stake in Paris’ Italie Deux shopping centre to AXA Investment Managers for £362m
// The forward sale of a 75% stake of an extension to Italie Deux, for an additional £36.3m has also been agreed
// Hammerson has sold a number of sites in recent months as part of a turnaround scheme
Hammerson has sold its majority stake in a major Paris shopping complex for £362 million as it pushes on with its turnaround scheme.
Earlier today, the shopping centre giant announced that it completed the sale of its 75 per cent stake in the Italie Deux shopping destination in the French capital to AXA Investment Managers for €430 million (£362 million).
Hammerson said the sale price represented an 8.5 per cent discount on the site’s book value from December 2018, and is “marginally below” its June 2019 valuation.
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The retail property firm has sold a number of sites in recent months as it looks to ease the pressure currently facing shopping centres.
Hammerson has seen its share value slide by 21.7 per cent over the past 12 months and swung to a £319.8 million loss in the half year to June 30, compared to a £55.7 million profit for the same period last year.
It added that the forward sale of a 75 per cent stake of an extension of Italie Deux, for an additional €43 million (£36.3 million), has also been agreed.
The extension will add 68,889sq ft of extra space to the Italie Deux site and is due to open in September 2020.
Hammerson said 41 per cent of units have been pre-let.
The firm said the from the sale of the centre, which is located in the 13th arrondissement and welcomes 12 million visitors each year, will be “used to reduce debt and strengthen the balance sheet”.
The sale comes a month after Hammerson sold the St Oswald’s Retail Park in Gloucester to the local council for £54 million.
Hammerson owns or has significant interests in various shopping centres in the UK, France and Ireland.
Its portfolio consists of Brent Cross in London, Cabot Circus in Bristol, Westquay in Southampton, Victoria Gate in Leeds and the Bullring in Birmingham.
with PA Wires
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