LondonMetric offloads £58m more non-core assets

Real estate group LondonMetric Property has continued its capital recycling strategy with the sale of £58m-worth of non-core assets and the acquisition of a retail park in Essex.

The company said on Monday that it has disposed of 24 properties across various non-core sectors – incuding an Asda superstore in Halesowen, a leisure asset in Hamilton and three Travelodge hotels – for a total of £57.9m, representing a 6% profit over prevailing book values.

The disposals bring the total number of sold assets since the start of its financial year on 1 April to 52, raising £209m for the company at a net initial yield (NIY) of 7.6%.

"These are a series of excellent disposals reflecting our strategy of exiting assets and sectors that are incompatible with the listed REIT sector," said chief executive Andrew Jones.

"We are redeploying the proceeds into winning sectors and higher quality assets that will provide better income reliability, predictability and trajectory."

In a separate transaction, LondonMetric has bought a retail park on the outskirts of Basildon for £10m, reflecting a NIY of 6.7% rising to 7.3% following upcoming rent reviews. The park is currently let to brands like Pets at Home, Poundland, Farmfoods and McDonald's.

The stock was down 0.4% at 187.2p by 0849 GMT.