Wereldhave has reached agreement to sell the Itis shopping centre in Helsinki to a fund advised by Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing (MSREI). With this transaction, Wereldhave has made a large step in realising its strategic agenda to focus on convenience centres, whilst improving its risk profile and strengthening the balance sheet.

The net price for the shopping centre including the deferred tax liability amounts to EUR 450M. This reflects a gross price of EUR 516M which is 8.5 percent below the book value at 30 June 2018.

The transaction is scheduled for December 2018, subject to completion of the Finnkino development project and antitrust approval. After completion, Wereldhave’s portfolio will be strongly focused on one asset class, with 29 convenience shopping centres in Belgium (7), France (6) and the Netherlands (16). As Itis accounted for 15 percent of the portfolio, the single asset exposure will decrease to 7 percent, which improves the risk profile of the company.

Once the disposal of Finland is completed, the LTV is expected to drop by 6 perncet, thus significantly improving the capital structure of Wereldhave.

As a result of the completion of the transaction and the associated loss of rental income in December, Wereldhave expects the direct result for 2018 to be between EUR 3.30 and EUR 3.35 per share (previously EUR 3.33 and EUR 3.38). The dividend can and will be maintained at the current level of EUR 2.52 in respect of 2018 and 2019.