British Land sells Meadowhall mall stake, values it at £743m

British Land said on Monday that it has exchanged contracts for the sale of its 50% stake in the Sheffield Meadowhall Shopping Centre to its partner Norges Bank Investment Management for £360 million. It values the property at £734m, 3% above the September 2023 book value.

Earlier this year, there had been speculation that Frasers Group might buy the stake and The Times reported that the acquisitive retail giant was mulling what would be its biggest retail property investment so far having registered an interest in the sale.

But Norges Bank clinched the prize that became available because commercial property giant British Land’s current strategy is “to focus on retail parks and reduce exposure to covered shopping centres”.

It noted that following the sale of Meadowhall, 93% of its portfolio is now in “our preferred segments of retail parks, campuses and London urban logistics”.

Proceeds of the sale, after net debt of around £200 million, are expected to total around £156 million. The transaction is expected to complete in July and the proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes “including reinvestment into retail parks”.

But British Land isn’t cutting its ties with the mall. As part of the transaction, it will remain as asset manager of Meadowhall, “for which it will continue to earn fees in line with current terms”.

Simon Carter, Chief Executive of British Land, said: “We have had a successful partnership with Norges over many years and are delighted to continue to work alongside them as asset managers of the centre.

“We will continue to grow our retail park portfolio; with low capex requirements parks offer attractive cash returns and at 99% occupancy we are delivering strong rental growth.”