British supermarket group Sainsbury's has exchanged contracts with LXi REIT on a deal to sell 18 stores in southern England for £500 million (€571.5 million) to the property investor and then lease them back.
LXi REIT said on Thursday that completion of the acquisition was conditional on it raising the necessary equity funding, for which it is currently in talks with investors.
Investment Vehicles
Sainsbury's, Britain's second largest grocer after Tesco, has said if transaction goes ahead it will use the cash to part fund the purchase of 21 stores from the Highbury and Dragon investment vehicles.
Sainsbury's has held a 49% interest in Highbury and Dragon since it was created in 2000. The vehicles hold the freeholds of 26 Sainsbury's supermarkets which are leased to it.
The remaining 51% is owned by a joint venture between Supermarket Income REIT and British Airways Pension Trustees Limited.
Sainsbury's purchase of the 21 stores is part of its plan to bring that structure to an end.
No Impact On Financial Guidance
It said both deals would result in a broadly unchanged proportion of leasehold and freehold supermarkets in its portfolio and would not impact financial guidance.
' However, there would be a cash timing effect as we would expect to receive the sales proceeds of the LXi REIT transaction this financial year but will complete the Highbury and Dragon purchases next financial year,' the retailer added.
Sainsbury's trades from over 600 supermarkets and over 800 convenience stores and has £10.4 billion of property assets.
News by Reuters, edited by ESM. For more retail news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
