Australian shopping centre owner Vicinity Centres has sold two more non-core assets for A$195.5m (鈧�121.8m).
Vicinity has sold a 25% interest in Mt Ommaney Centre in suburban Brisbane for $A95.4m to YFG Shopping Centres and has sold the Corio Central asset in Geelong in regional Victoria to a consortium led by the Melbourne-based IP Generation for A$101m.
The assets were sold at a 0.5% discount to their combined June 2019 book values. JP Morgan REIT research team noted that two assets were devalued 13% and 19% in the past financial year.
Vicinity鈥檚 CEO and managing director, Grant Kelley, said the group had achieved solid pricing for the assets and spoke of 鈥渋mproved investor demand鈥� in the sector after Vicinity announced in August 2019 that it would not proceed with any further material divestments in the current environment.
鈥淭he sale of these non-core assets is in line with our strategy of focussing our portfolio on market-leading destinations,鈥� Kelley said.
Excluding the latest divestment, the shopping centre owner has sold 37 centres around Australia, yielding a total of A$3.3bn.
It now runs a platform of 62 assets, valued at A$15.8bn in June this year, on behalf of institutional investors and pension funds, as well as its listed vehicle, Vicinity Centres.
Kelley said: 鈥淭he transaction will further strengthen our balance sheet, with around a 90 basis point reduction in gearing, with the proceeds assumed to repay debt in the short term.鈥�
