Hammerson has announced that it has exchanged contracts for the sale of Westwood and Westwood Gateway Retail Parks, Thanet, to clients of BMO Real Estate Partners for £80 million. The sale price represents a net initial yield of 6.5% and is slightly below December 2016 book value.
The retail parks, covering a total of 24,900 m2, are located in Kent, in the South East of England, and Hammerson says that they benefit from a strong line-up of homeware retailers including Homebase, Wren, Tapi, SCS and Dunelm. Hammerson acquired Westwood Retail Park in 2002 and since then has worked to actively reposition the asset through extensions and tenant engineering. The adjacent Westwood Gateway site was constructed in 2005 and a new retail terrace was added in 2009. A further extension of two units was added in 2016. Since acquisition, over 15,000 m2 of new floor space has been added and the rental income has increased by over 200%. Hammerson says that, since acquisition, it has transformed the retail offer and significantly increased rents.
Hammerson’s CEO, David Atkins, says that they continue to actively manage the retail park portfolio, realising proceeds to recycle into higher growth opportunities, and are progressing with their planned disposal programme for the year. He says that Hammerson remains committed to reducing its leverage ahead of progressing with its development pipeline.
Hammerson disposes of Westwood and Westwood Gateway Retail Parks, Thanet : HMSO