British Land sells £429m of Sainsburys superstores in bid to reduce retail assets

Property firm British Land has announced it has exchanged on the sale of 12 Sainsburys superstores for £429m in a bid to diversify its portfolio.

As part of its long-term strategy to invest in mixed-use properties, the company anticipates that the sale will bring its retail business down from around 50 per cent to around a third of total assets.

The firm is concentrating on three main elements as part of its long-term strategy: campus focused London offices, a smaller refocused retail business and build to rent residential properties.

With the deal expected to complete in May 2019, this latest transaction follows British Land’s sale of Debenhams in Clapham and the Spirit pubs portfolio.

British Land commented: “Alongside investment into our campuses and progressing unique development opportunities such as Canada Water, we are focused on further sales of retail assets which are not aligned to our strategy and continue to make good progress.

“We have a clear view of the value of our assets and despite the clear challenges currently in the retail market, we remain opportunistic and proactive.”