Retail parks in £1bn wipe-out
Hammerson to flog 13 sites
ONE of Britain’s biggest shopping centre owners has put all its out-of-town retail parks up for sale.
Hammerson is aiming to sell 13 sites as part of a wider shake-up caused by the crisis facing many big-name chain stores. The company yesterday slashed the value of its retail parks by £45million to just over £1.1billion after reporting halfyear profits dived 80% to £55.8million. The sell-off comes after years of outof-town shopping hubs being blamed for fuelling the decline of many of the country’s high streets. The Daily Mirror is championing the revival of town centres through our High Street Fightback campaign – demanding more Government help for businesses and retailers. The 13 locations Hammerson wants to sell include Elliott’s Field Shopping Park in Rugby, Ravenhead in St Helens, Merseyside, Parc Tawe in Swansea and Abbotsinch in Paisley near Glasgow. The sites’ tenants include B&Q stores, Hammerson’s single biggest customer. Other major tenants are Debenhams, Marks & Spencer and Dixons Carphone, which are all closing stores. Hammerson, which owns a £10bn property empire, is concentrating on “flagship retail destinations” such as Birmingham’s Bullring and London’s Brent Cross, plus “premium outlets” which include the Bicester Village designer outlet in Oxfordshire. It is also cutting the amount of space given to department stores by a quarter, and to high street fashion chains by a fifth. Instead, it is targeting chains selling “aspirational fashion” and leisure. Hammerson boss David Atkins said the changes marked a “step change in our retailer line-up”. The overhaul follows criticism since the firm abandoned a £3.4bn buyout of Intu, the owner of Manchester’s Trafford Centre, in April, and it rejected a £5bn takeover offer from French rival Klepierre. In a bid to appease investors, Hammerson yesterday confirmed it was handing back £300m to shareholders.