British Land sells two UK retail parks for 78m pounds

29th Apr 2014 07:06

Property giant British Land has sold two of its retail parks in Scotland and Wales for a total of 78m pounds.The FTSE 100-listed company has offloaded the St James Retail Park in Dumbarton, located in the West-Central Lowlands of Scotland, to The Legal & General Property Unit Trust for £45.75m. The 250,000 square-foot retail park is anchored by brands such as Asda, M&S Simply Food and Homebase.The sale price represents a net initial yield - annualised rents generated by the portfolio expressed as a percentage of the portfolio valuation - of 5.9%.Meanwhile, the Cwmbran Retail Park in South Wales has been disposed of to UBS for £32.3m at a net initial yield of 6.4%. The 136,000 square-foot site houses chains such as B&Q, Next and TK Maxx.British Land's Head of Retail Charles Maudsley said: "These sales are in line with our strategy to further focus our retail portfolio on high quality, locally preferred shopping destinations. "Over the last 12 months, we have sold £386m of retail assets which is broadly matched by the acquisitions we've made."BC