Â鶹ӳ»­

UK REIT Hammerson has abandoned plans to develop a £600 mln (€695 mln) new retail quarter in Sheffield, UK, to focus on its key projects in Leeds and London.

In a statement, the UK REIT said that it had reached mutual agreement with Sheffield City Council not to progress Sevenstone, its proposed retail development in Sheffield.

Peter Cole, Hammerson's chief investment officer, said the company had 'looked at various options to redesign the original large-scale scheme which was conceived pre-recession'.

'We have now reviewed our UK development projects and, having made significant advances and commitments on a number of our other schemes, we have decided not to progress Sevenstone,' he added.

Hammerson received outline planning approval for the proposed New Retail Quarter in Sheffield in August 2006 but the development stalled with the onset of the credit crisis in 2008.

Hammerson said the decision to pull out of Sheffield reflects a strategy to focus on its strategic UK development projects, consisting of its major retail schemes in Leeds and London, including Croydon and Brent Cross. The company announced earlier this year that it was committed to develop a £1 bn mixed-use scheme of around 200,000 m2 in Croydon through a joint venture with Australian property giant Westfield.

In total, Hammerson's projects in Leeds and London will deliver circa 327,000 m2 of new retail space over the coming years, the retail specialist noted.