NewsroomUK largest mall owner to restructureThe company which owns the largest number of shopping centres in the UK is to restructure its £2.8b business. According to Financial Times, Liberty International announced that was in the final process of demerging, splitting its £6.1b property portfolio into two new listed companies. Its £4.4b shopping centres property business with be split from its London properties, worth £1.7b. The shopping centres business will be turned into a real estate investment trust (REIT), with a projected capitalization of £2b, and the London properties are to become part of a new development for housing and businesses, which reports suggest could be valued at £1b. This move has raised questions about whether single-sector REITs can continue to operate against traditional established conglomerates, which dominate the UK property industry. Liberty is the UK’s third largest property firm behind British Land and Land Securities.
|