Homebase and Argos owner Home Retail Group has sold a prime development site in Battersea, SW11, to a residential developer.
The sale of the freehold store is the start of a process to sell as much as 25% of Homebase’s portfolio by the end of 2018. It expects to have closed around 25 stores by the end of its 2015 financial year.
Homebase has sold the Battersea site for £57m, £30m of which will be received in the current financial year, with the remaining £27m being received in 2016 when the DIY chain vacates the store.
The transaction will result in a gain on sale of £38m being recorded as an exceptional item in the 2016 financial year.
