UK REIT British Land has exchanged contracts to sell Debenhams' flagship store on London's Oxford Street to a private investor for 拢400 mln (鈧�470 mln).
The asset is a seven storey building located near Bond Street Underground Station in London鈥檚 core West End shopping district. The 363,000 sq ft (33,723 m2) building is let in its entirety to Debenhams until 2039, producing an annual rent of 拢11 mln.
The deal reflects a yield of 2.75%.
In addition, British Land said it has exchanged on 拢99 mln of further retail disposals since end-March, including 拢79 mln of superstores, reflecting a slight premium on the March valuations. These transactions bring total retail disposals since the year-end to 拢499 mln.
'The disposal of Debenhams on Oxford Street reflects our strategic focus on multi-let assets within the Retail portfolio,' said CEO Chris Grigg. 'British Land has entered this period of post-referendum uncertainty in a robust position. We have a strong, resilient business with a clear strategy. We have a modern portfolio which is well suited to current and future customer needs.'
British Land's portfolio is 99% occupied and the company has a loan to value of 29.7%. 'Our speculative development commitments are low at 4% of the portfolio and we have considerable flexibility in our development pipeline,' he added.
