Shopping centre owner Hammerson confirmed it was in talks with Canadian private equity firm Brookfield on a possible sale of its retail parks.
Brookfield is prepared to pay around £350m for seven retail parks, the Sunday Times reported. Hammerson has been battered by retail closures during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, with plummeting rental income as stores were shuttered.
“There can be no certainty that a transaction will take place or the terms on which any transaction may occur. The company will provide a further update in due course, if appropriate,” Hammerson said on Monday in a statement.
The seven sites include retail parks in Falkirk, Didcot, Middlesbrough, St Helens, Telford, Merthyr Tydfil and Rugby.
Hammerson, which owns Birmingham’s Bulling Shopping Centre, posted a £1.7bn loss for its 2020 financial year, with its portfolio value at the end of 2020 down by nearly 36% cent from 2019.
“As announced at its full year results, the company continues to make asset disposals in liquid markets to further strengthen the balance sheet, with gross proceeds of £73m achieved to date in 2021,” Hammerson said.
