Hammerson to beef up finances with £552m rights issue, Via Outlets sale; rolls out new leasing approach

Archived article

Please note that tax, investment, pension and ISA rules can change and the information and any views contained in this article may now be inaccurate.

Shopping centre owner Hammerson said it would raise £552m through a rights issue and sell its 50% stake in VIA Outlets for about £274m.

Both the transactions would require shareholder approval.

The company also said it would introduce a new leasing approach later this year that would rebase rents at 'more affordable' levels.

'This new approach will include: more flexible leases; rebased rents at more affordable levels; indexation replacing the existing rent-review system, which is already a feature in French leases; and a top-up element based on appropriate omnichannel metrics,' the company said.

The move came as the company reported a wider in first-half losses on lower net rental income owing to the impact of the pandemic.

For the six months to 30 June, pre-tax losses widened to £1.1bn from £319m on-year as net rental income as revenue fell to £93m from £125m.

Net rental income fell £31.1m to £35.2m, with occupancy down 370 basis points to 93.3% than at the beginning of the year.

Footfall for the first half of 2020 was down 54%, predominantly driven by 'the closure of most stores during the lockdown period,' the company said.

Looking ahead, the company said its plans to raise cash and introduce a new leasing approach would boost finances and deliver a sustainable, growing income stream.

The transactions will significantly strengthen the Company's financial position, and provide liquidity headroom and flexibility to advance its longer term strategy

At 8:57am: (LON:HMSO) Hammerson PLC share price was -0.13p at 55.83p