Capital & Regional to sell The Mall in Blackburn

Real estate investment trust Capital & Regional has agreed to sell The Mall in Blackburn to the retail arm of Adhan Group for £40.0m in cash.

Capital & Regional said on Tuesday that the agreed-upon sale price represented a premium to the property's December 2021 valuation of £38.2m, while net cash proceeds from the sale of approximately £39.0m will be used to repay debt secured on the property as part of its loan facility.

Upon completion of the sale, which was expected to take place around the end of June, Capital & Regional's net loan to value ratio will be approximately 600 basis points.

The London-listed firm noted that the Mall contributed approximately £3.7m to net rental income for the year ended 30 December.

Chief executive Lawrence Hutchings said: "The sale of The Mall, Blackburn at a premium to its December 2021 valuation provides further evidence of the stabilisation of asset values as well as renewed investor confidence in the sector and allows us to make another material reduction to group leverage."

As of 0915 BST, Capital & Regional shares were down 1.64% at 60.0p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com