Hammerson sells further stake in French shopping centre

28th Oct 2011 07:39

Hammerson, the FTSE 100 retail-focused real estate firm, has sold off a further interest in the O'Parinor shopping centre in France for €106m, following the disposal of a majority interest last year."The disposal is in line with Hammerson's strategy to realise value, and release capital for investment opportunities in the UK and France which offer superior returns," the statement said.The group sold a 51% share in the Alunay-sous-Bois (near Paris) investment in August 2010 for €217m, and has now decided to exercise the option to offload an additional 24%."I'm pleased to have completed the sale of the second stake in O'Parinor as expected, which, combined with the announced credit facility, brings further liquidity into our business. However, we retain a significant interest in the centre, and are progressing with plans to refresh its offer to tenants and consumers," said chief executive David Atkins.In addition to the disposal, Hammerson has raised an additional €54m after drawing the recently signed non-recourse credit facility for O'Parinor.BC