Member Article

Hammerson disposes of a pair of Thanet retail parks for £80m

Property developer Hammerson plc has exchanged contracts on a deal that will see it selling off a pair of retail parks in Kent for £80m.

The agreement sees clients of BMO Real Estate Partners acquire Westwood and Westwood Gateway Retail Park in Thanet for the eight-figure sum, bringing Hammerson’s 15 year ownership of the site to an end.

Since 2002 the developer has embarked on an extension and tenant repositioning effort which entailed the addition of the Gateway site back in 2005 and the construction of a new retail terrace in 2009.

The developer also added another two units last year, providing a total of 15,000 sq m of floor space and swelling rental income from both sites by over 200% over the period, derived from tenants including Homebase, Wren and Dunelm.

David Atkins, Chief Executive Officer of London-headquartered Hammerson, commented: “We continue to actively manage our retail park portfolio, realising proceeds to recycle into higher growth opportunities.

“We are progressing with our planned disposal programme for the year and remain committed to reducing leverage ahead of progressing with our development pipeline.”