NewRiver has sold the last retail parks out of its Napier joint venture for £62.6m.
The REIT’s share of the proceeds will be £31.3m, with the remainder going to the Bravo fund, which is operated by Luxembourg-based open fund PAF Lux SCA. The price is slightly below the latest valuation of £64.4m
The Kittybrewster Retail Park in Aberdeen and Glendoe and Telford Retail Parks in Inverness generated net rental income of £5.7m during FY23, handing NewRiver £2.9m.
The proceeds will be used to reduce NewRiver’s net debt to £169.5m, which will reduce its LTV to 30.3%.
NewRiver and Bravo bought the portfolio in 2019 for £60.5m. The disposals have brought in a total of £76m, a gain of 26%.
Since acquisition, the Napier joint venture has generated an IRR of 16% and following the disposal of Napier, NewRiver and Bravo continue to own two assets within a separate venture.
NewRiver chief executive Allan Lockhart said: “The Napier joint venture is a great example of why we like retail parks and working in capital partnerships. Over our four years of ownership and management, we have been able to crystallise compelling returns for ourselves and our partner by utilising our specialist retail platform at each stage of the process. In addition, the disposal means that the strength of NewRiver’s balance sheet position is further improved, with proforma LTV now at 30.3% and significant cash resources giving maximum flexibility and optionality around capital allocation.”
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