Scottish retail parks in disposal

Property trust RDI has sold six retail parks including two in Scotland for almost £157 million.

The Uk-focused real estate investment trust, which is listed on the London stock market, said it had exchanged contracts for the disposal of the assets to M7 Real Estate.

It described the deal as a “significant milestone” in the ongoing repositioning of its portfolio.

Among the assets being sold for a total of £156.9 mare Milton Road Retail Park in Edinburgh and Queens Drive Retail Park in Kilmarnock. The other properties are located in Banbury, Bangor and Merton and Watford in London.

The portfolio forms part of RDI’S £275m financing facility which includes a £137.5m revolving credit facility.

The anticipated disposal proceeds of £156.9m will be used to reduce the revolving credit facility by approximately £100m, providing a “significant reduction in leverage”, the firm added.

Mike Watters, chief executive at RD I, said :“Together with the disposal of Schloss Strassen Center in Berlin just last week, we have taken a substantial step for ward in the implementation of our portfolio strategy in a very short space of time and against a challenging backdrop.

“In just 18 months since announcing our strategic review, we have undertaken around £330 m of disposal s and our teams working on these transactions deserve to be commended for markedly reducing our exposure to the retail sector.

“This major transaction also further reinforces our balance sheet by bringing our leverage down significantly whilst extending our cash po sition. Having now achieved a number of our strategic priorities, the company is in a strong position.”

The firm said the disposal, which is a sale of the six associated special purpose vehicles, is anticipated to complete in mid-october.