Shares in shopping centre giant Hammerson tumble as value of its property empire falls
Hammerson saw shares tumble after a fall in the value of its property empire.
The shopping centre group, which owns Birmingham’s Bullring, said its estate was worth £5.1billion at the end of 2022, down from £5.4billion 12 months earlier.
Hammerson said it carried out ‘a disciplined programme of disposals’ of unwanted sites and was focusing the business on ‘prime city centre’ locations.
Slump: Hammerson, which owns Birmingham’s Bullring (pictured) said its estate was worth £5.1bn at the end of 2022 – down from £5.4bn 12 months earlier
It completed £195million of disposals last year and pledged a further £300million of sell-offs by December 2023.
Market confidence was also knocked by a decline in rental income from £250.4million in 2021 to £215.2million.
Shares plunged 11.5 per cent, closing at 25.94p.
Broker Peel Hunt said Hammerson’s balance sheet required ‘some TLC’.
But chief executive Rita-Rose Gagne said the company had made progress despite ‘a volatile macroeconomic and market backdrop’.