Intu Properties: 80% of UK mall sold to Kumpulan

Published Jun 6, 2014

Share

JSE-listed real estate investment trust Intu Properties has sold an 80 percent interest in its Uxbridge shopping centre in the UK for £175 million (R3.1 billion) to Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan), the £19bn Malaysian pension fund. The sale price represents a 2 percent premium to its valuation of 100 percent of the centre in December last year of £213.9m. Intu Properties has retained a 20 percent stake and will continue to manage the centre on behalf of the joint venture. David Fischel, the chief executive of Intu Properties, said the transaction was in line with Intu’s stated strategy of recycling capital into its £1.2bn development pipeline and demonstrated its capability to grow the scale of its business under the nationwide Intu shopping centre brand. “We are delighted to have entered into this partnership, establishing a relationship with a significant overseas investor and demonstrating the investment demand for prime UK shopping centres under the management of a specialist operator such as Intu,” he said. The proceeds will be used to repay existing bank debt and terminate associated swaps totalling about £155m. Intu Properties fell 0.68 percent to R56.96. – Roy Cokayne

Related Topics: