Birmingham-based developer St Modwen has kickstarted a series of disposals with the sale of its long leasehold interest in the Cannock Shopping Centre, Staffordshire.
Guardian Assurance purchased the leasehold for £14m, representing a net initial yield of 8.6%.
St Modwen’s chief executive Anthony Glossop has identified investments worth £20m, which he hopes to sell in the next 12 months.
“Our policy is always to sell when we think we have made the majority of the property improvements and got the investment into a position where it can achieve solid growth. Cannock, having been built and virtually fully let, fits into that solid income category,” he said.
He was speaking after St Modwen posted a rise in half- year pretax profits to £6.6m compared with £6.5m last year.
The rent-roll jumped 17% to £19.2m for the six months to May after the company acquired two shopping centres in Farnborough from MEPC for £25m and filled empty space in the portfolio.
Top of the company’s sales list is the 6.1ha (15 acre) Pride Park site in Derby on which, last February, Prudential took a 13,000m2 (139,935 sq ft) prelet for a call centre.
Glossop indicated that Pride Park could be sold in the next 12 months.
