URW offloads €300m of assets with €1bn more to come

Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield sold €300m (£252m) of assets in the first six months of 2024 and is in discussions on a further €1bn. Disposals included Equinoccio in Spain to Atitlan for €34m, the $160m (£124m) sale of Westfield Annapolis in the US, a call option by URW’s partner in Auoark in Bratislava for its 13% stake in the asset and sales agreements on several non-core assets and land plots in France for €70m. The sales, when combined with previous sales that have not yet completed, enables the shopping centre giant to pay down €500m of its circa €20bn debt. URW said it was “actively engaged” in discussions with potential buyers for €1bn in asset sales and was “committed to further deleveraging through disposals in Europe, in line with its long-standing capital recycling policy, and the radical reduction of financial exposure in the US.” Trading across the group’s portfolio in the six months ended 30 June was strong, with rental income up by 5.6% to almost €1.2bn and operating profit up by 5.8% to €1.9bn. Rental income from its UK assets fell from €113m to €101m. Chief executive Jean-Marie Tritant, said: “H1 was characterised by strong operating performance across all activities. In retail, this meant higher year-on-year footfall and tenant sales – outperforming national sales Indices in the US and Europe – as well as continued robust leasing activity.”