Hammerson PLC VIA Outlets acquires European portfolio (9156P)
23 November 2016 - 6:01PM
UK Regulatory
TIDMHMSO
RNS Number : 9156P
Hammerson PLC
23 November 2016
Hammerson plc
Acquisition
23 November 2016
VIA Outlets acquires European portfolio
Hammerson plc and its partners in VIA Outlets, APG, Meyer
Bergman and Value Retail, have signed an agreement to acquire,
subject to regulatory clearance, four established outlet centres as
part of its growth strategy in the European outlet market.
The retail venues, located close to major cities in Germany,
Portugal, Spain and Poland, represent total gross asset value of
EUR587 million (GBP502 million) and a blended net initial yield of
5.5%. The transaction takes the total size of the VIA Outlets
portfolio to EUR1.1 billion across 10 assets and delivers critical
mass to this successful European outlets venture.
VIA Outlets has identified opportunities to drive growth in
sales densities and operating income by evolving the brand mix and
delivering marketing and tourist initiatives. To support the
enlarged portfolio, the VIA Outlets organisational structure has
been enhanced through secondments and external hires to expand its
asset management, marketing and finance teams. The five-year
forecast unlevered IRR for the acquired assets is 11%.
In line with Hammerson's 47% interest in VIA Outlets, its share
of the acquisition funding, taking into account existing
centre-level debt financing, will be EUR170 million (GBP145
million). Following the acquisition, Hammerson's exposure to the
fast-growing European outlet market is around 17% of its gross
asset value (pro-forma 30 June 2016). The transaction is accretive
to forecast EPS and NAVPS. Hammerson's planned GBP500 million
disposal programme is on track with GBP435 million already
completed. Further disposals have been identified for 2017.
The largest outlet to be acquired is in Zweibrucken, Germany, at
29,000m(2) with 114 tenants. It is located on the border between
France, Germany and Luxembourg and connected by the main arterial
roads in the region. It was Germany's first established retail
outlet and includes Versace, Michael Kors, Polo Ralph Lauren, Tommy
Hilfiger and Esprit. Sales density is the highest across the VIA
Outlets portfolio at EUR6,000/m(2) and annual footfall is 3.8
million.
Located close to Porto, Portugal, the outlet in Vila Do Conde
receives annual footfall of 4.3 million. The outlet covers
28,000m(2) with 129 tenants and the acquired site has further
adjacent development land. Brands trading at the outlet include
Polo Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors and Carolina Herrera with average
sales density of EUR4,000/m(2) .
The outlet in Spain is located north east of Seville attracting
a growing number of tourists visiting the Andalucia region. The
outlet is 16,400m(2) and has 65 retail units with brands including
Tommy Hilfiger, Mango, Polo Ralph Lauren and Adidas. The outlet has
sales density of EUR3,600/m(2) and annual footfall is 2.0
million.
The outlet in Wroclaw, Poland, is the only retail outlet in the
western Poland region and includes 15,800m(2) of retail space and
87 units. The outlet houses brands such as Nike, Tommy Hilfiger,
Adidas, Guess and Calzedonia and sits within a wider retail offer.
Sales density is EUR3,300/m(2) and annual footfall is 2.8
million.
Timon Drakesmith,
CFO and Managing Director, Premium Outlets, Hammerson plc
Chairman, VIA Outlets Advisory Committee, said:
"This is a rare opportunity to acquire strong outlet centres in
an off-market transaction. Well-positioned European outlets
continue to deliver strong sales growth supported by an improving
customer offer and increasing tourist numbers across Europe. Our
active capital recycling programme is tilting Hammerson's portfolio
towards faster-growth end-markets to reinforce our consistent
earnings growth profile."
ENDS
For further information:
Hammerson
Timon Drakesmith, CFO
Tel: 0207 887 1106
Rebecca Patton, Head of Investor Relations
Tel: 020 7887 1109
Note: the announcement above has also been released on the SENS
system of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
Notes to Editors
Hammerson is a FTSE 100 owner, manager and developer of retail
destinations in Europe. Our portfolio of high-quality retail
property has a value of around GBP9 billion and includes 22 prime
shopping centres, 18 convenient retail parks and investments in 19
premium outlet villages, through our partnership with Value Retail
and the VIA Outlets joint venture. Key investments include
Bullring, Birmingham, Bicester Village, Dundrum Town Centre, Dublin
and Les Terrasses du Port, Marseille.
Exchange rate (as at 22 November 2016) EUR:GBP 1.17
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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