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Aviva eyes £500m disposal

Aviva-Investors-sign-THUMB.jpegVarde Partners is one of several parties that have been approached to buy Project Hyperion – a £500m chunk of Aviva Commercial Finance controlled property and debt that were once owned by the Noé family.

The talks come after the investor on Thursday exchanged contracts for the £240m Project Titan portfolio of properties, which formed the second tranche of assets sold off after 10 Noé family-controlled companies were placed in receivership in February this year.

The latest talks include a further eight trophy assets such as the Vicar Lane shopping centre in Chesterfield, alongside a significant debt package.

Project Titan, and its forerunner Project Tree, comprised secondary mixed use-properties.

APAM has been appointed by Varde to asset manage the properties.

Varde, advised by Allsop, secured project Titan ahead of competition from a Goldman Sachs-Square Metre Properties jv, a partnership between Apollo and M&M, and a bid fronted by Catalyst Capital.

It has agreed to pay around £240m for the 187 Titan assets.

KPMG was appointed administrative receiver the companies, which controlled the properties in February this year.

The companies, which included Landmaster Properties, owned a total of 339 mostly regional properties.

Tristan Capital Partners bought the Project Tree portfolio – the first portfolio of properties sold following the receivership – for £153.2m.

• Legal & General has gone under offer with a £220m bid for the prime multi-let Ocean portfolio – including the 1.7m sq ft Fradley Park – being sold by Lone Star’s Hudson Advisors.

JLL acted for KPMG and L&G;; DTZ receivers adviser  the vendors on the Ocean portfolio.

chris.berkin@estatesgazette.com

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