British Land foodstore sales nets £118 million through 24th September 2012

British Land has sold seven foodstores for £118 million (British Land share £62 million) to institutional purchasers at net initial yields of between 4.95% and 5.7%, in line with March valuations.

Tesco in Wembley (Tesco JV) was bought by private clients of Orchard Street for £61.9 million representing a net initial yield of 5.5%, while Sainsbury's in Leicester (Sainsbury's JV) was sold to Sainsbury's for £21.7 million representing a net initial yield of 5.2%.

Sainsbury's in Chadwell Heath (Sainsbury's JV), Waitrose in Frimley (Sainsbury's JV) and Aldi in Gorton were sold to clients of CBRE Global Investors for £19.2 million, £9.6 million and £3.2 million respectively, representing net initial yields of 5.2%, 4.95% and 5.7%.

Co-Op stores in Barton and Cleethorpes were bought by consumer co-operative Lincolnshire Corn Exchange & Markets Ltd for £2.9 million representing a net initial yield of 5.4%.

Charles Maudsley, Head of Retail for British Land, said: "On the back of good demand in the foodstore sector, we have sold over £100 million of foodstore investments featuring a variety of ages, rent levels and lease expiries. The sales were in line with, or above, our March valuations, reflecting the income security and growth prospects for the various stores. This is very much in line with our stated strategy of capital recycling to maximise our portfolio returns."

British Land is the largest owner of foodstores outside the occupiers themselves with £2.5 billion of foodstores under management, of which its share is £1.3 billion.

British Land was represented by Morgan Williams, Jones Lang LaSalle and Colliers International.