Hammerson said on Friday it will exit out-of-town retail locations by selling seven of them to private equity Orion for in the region of €478 million (£400 million) amid store closures on the UK High Street and rise of online stores.
The company which also co-owns the Ilac Centre and the Pavilion Shopping Centre in Swords across Ireland said that it has been trimming debt and fixing its balance sheet by divesting some its portfolio to focus on its flagship sites, premium outlets and city quarters across Europe.
"Against a challenged retail and investment backdrop, we have exited the retail parks sector," David Atkins, chief executive officer said in a statement.
U-Turn On Intu Deal
The company announced plans in 2018 to sell shopping centres that house a number of large retail chains following its failed takeover of rival Intu Properties.
The shopping centre operator said at the time that it was pulling out of buying smaller rival Intu Properties by asking its increasingly sceptical shareholders not to back the planned £3.4 billion ($4.8 billion) deal.
The company has said that its board had withdrawn its recommendation that shareholders support the takeover due to heightened concerns about the British retail sector.
Since Then
The property giant has so far sold 14 retail parks and earned £764 million.
Hammerson still holds an interest in a park that is held as a joint venture with Aberdeen Standard Investments and is marked for sale.
Intu too has been struggling with debt and had recently said it was in talks with its largest shareholder and new investors to raise funds to shore up its balance sheet.
News by Reuters, edited by and additional reporting by Donna Ahern, Checkout. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition
