Sainsbury’s has undertaken a review of its property pipeline, resulting in a £92m land impairment from shelved developments.
The retail giant has identified a number of sites where it doesn’t wish to proceed with developments, but said in a statement to the City it continued to see “opportunities for future growth”, with small market shares in select postcodes.
This review resulted in a write-down of £92m to the value of sites where supermarkets will not now go ahead.
Sainsbury’s has also appointed DHL to manage its new 1m sq ft distribution centre in Daventry, at Prologis’ International Rail Freight Terminal.
393,000 sq ft was added to Sainsbury’s gross selling space in the past six months, a rise of 1.8%, with 1m sq ft expected in 2013/14.
As of 28 September 2013, Sainsbury’s property valuation stood at £11.8bn, up from £11.5bn at the year-end, with an improvement in yields to 4.7%.
£122m in property disposals were made in the first half, with a profit on disposal of £18m. Six new supermarkets were opened in the period, along with 50 convenience stores and two extensions.
Sainsbury’s also made £7m in post-tax profits from its joint venture with British Land, and £1m from its Land Sec JV.
chris.berkin@estatesgazette.com
