Hammerson sells south Paris retail park for £116m, more disposals to come

8th Jan 2016 07:16

(ShareCast News) - Hammerson has signed a deal to sell the Villebon 2 retail park to a consortium of leading French institutional investors for €159m (£116m).The retail park, which was acquired in 2005 and fully owned by Hammerson, is in Villebon-sur-Yvette in the south of Paris and sold for more than the June 2015 book value.It generates gross rent of €8.5m (£6.2m) per year with the centre 99% occupied.The deal is expected to be completed in the first half of the financial year.Hammerson chief executive David Atkins said the company continues to see investor demand for well-positioned assets in France."[We] are pleased to have capitalised on this demand to secure a price that is well ahead of the latest book value."Atkins said the proceeds will be used to partially finance the recent acquisition of its Irish portfolio, anchored by Dundrum.The sale completes the company's £200m tranche of disposals, with another tranche of £300m of disposals to be completed throughout the year.