Hammerson shrugs off retail woes as it treads water on Intu takeover ahead of Klepierre deadline
Shopping centre owner Hammerson today said it had a strong start to the year despite ongoing challenges for the high street.
The firm also provided an update on its proposed takeover of Intu, saying it is holding off on shareholder documents as it awaits the next move from French firm Klepierre.
Earlier this month, real estate investment fund Klepierre confirmed it had made an approach for Hammerson that was rejected in less than a day.
Hammerson’s chairman called the bid from the French firm “wholly inadequate and entirely opportunistic” and advised shareholders to ignore the approach.
Read more: Hammerson deal in the spotlight this week as Klepierre charms shareholders
However, Klepierre has been looking to charm shareholders and has until 16 April to decide whether to make a firm offer.
Prior to the Klepierre offer, Hammerson had embarked on its own bid for UK rival Intu. Hammerson has offered 253.9p per Intu share, valuing the company at £3.4bn. The combined group will boast a £21bn portfolio of retail developments across Europe.
Today, in Hammerson’s first quarter update, the firm said:
While Klépierre’s position remains unclear, the board of Hammerson does not intend to finalise shareholder documents in relation to the proposed acquisition of Intu.
No retail woes here
The shopping centre giant said it had noted “strong leasing momentum” across the UK, France and Ireland following record activity in 2017, with £7m of group leases signed. That was up 59 per cent on the same time last year.
It noted that performance came “despite the current challenging UK retail backdrop” and the headwinds affecting consumers and retailers.
It also reported solid progress made on major developments. Construction has started at Les 3 Fontaines, Cergy, and at the Brent Cross extension, London’s first Cinema de Lux is on the cards, along with a new John Lewis.
Hammerson said £92m of disposals at book value have been achieved in the first quarter and it is on track to deliver £500m annual disposal target.
David Atkins, chief executive of Hammerson said:
Whilst we recognise the difficult trading environment and challenges felt by many retail and restaurant formats in the UK, there continues to be good demand for space across our centres.
The Easter trading weekend again demonstrated that not all retail is equal with our centres delivering positive footfall growth of five per cent compared to average reported Easter footfall across all shops of -2.4 per cent.
Read more: Hammerson shrugs off Klepierre bid as “inadequate and opportunistic”