// Landsec to sell off a third of its £12.8 billion portfolio
// It will offload some of its hotel and leisure properties, as well as retail parks
// Landsec is seeking to focus on growth opportunities in cities
Bluewater shopping centre owner Landsec has said it will offload close to a third of its £12.8 billion portfolio in an effort to focus on growth opportunities in cities.
The property company, which also owns Trinity Leeds shopping centre, will sell some of its hotel and leisure properties, as well as retail parks.
These are areas in which Landsec believes it has “little or no competitive advantage”, The Guardian reported.
READ MORE: Landsec posts “encouraging” footfall levels
Its new strategy will develop projects that include a mix of offices, retail stores and homes.
As part of the new strategy, Landsec will “reimagine” its retail business.
It said its outlets portfolio continues to have “good growth potential” but there is an opportunity for a significant reimagining of the model within its six regional shopping centres.
Chief executive Mark Allan said Landsec’s O2 centre in London has redevelopment potential, including the scope for new residential buildings.
Landsec said that despite the retail sector facing structural challenges as a result of the shift to online shopping, “not all retail is the same”.
Regional shopping centres have been most impacted by these challenges, but these represent only 13 per cent of Landsec’s portfolio.
Allan said that Landsec expects rents to fall at its regional shopping centres, in cities and towns including Glasgow, Leeds and Portsmouth.
The drop is excepted to be 20 per cent to 25 per cent from March levels to become more sustainable for tenants.
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