Landlord Hammerson has sold its entire stake in Value Retail, the owner of Bicester Village luxury retail park in Oxfordshire, in a £1.5bn deal, which it said would generate around £600m in cash proceeds.
The landlord said it had sold the entirety of its nearly 40% stake in Value Retail to newly created private equity firm L Catterton, which is backed by LVMH and would use at least part of the proceeds to pay down debt.
Value Retail also owns nine other luxury shopping destinations near Barcelona, Brussels, Dublin, Frankfurt, Paris, Madrid and Milan.
Hammerson chief executive Rita-Rose Gagné said: “This is a transformational deal for Hammerson, generating cash proceeds of [about] £600m while removing an overweight, low-yielding and minority stake, and positioning us for accelerated growth and value creation.”
She added that the deal would help Hammerson focus its portfolio on “prime urban real estate” and concentrate on “higher-yielding opportunities with stronger returns while enhancing returns to shareholders”.
L Catterton, which is part-owned by Louis Vuitton and Dior owner LVMH, said: “With its high-quality portfolio, reputation for luxury and commitment to delivering a distinctive experience to customers, Value Retail is well positioned for growth and continued success.”
In recent years, Hammerson has sold off international assets in a bid to focus on more urban shopping centres that it can repurpose, stripping out old department store space in favour of a mixed offer including food, leisure, services, retail and residential offerings.
This is the latest in a string of sales for the landlord, which owns a number of UK shopping centres including the Bullring in Birmingham and Cabot Circus in Bristol.
Hammerson most recently sold its 50% stake in the Croydon shopping centre redevelopment to former partner Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield.
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