Kiwi Property Group to sell North City Shopping Centre

Kiwi Property Group to sell North City Shopping Centre for $100 million

By Rebecca Howard

April 11 (BusinessDesk) - Kiwi Property Group, which manages a $3.1 billion portfolio of shopping centres and office buildings, is selling North City Shopping Centre in Porirua, for $100 million to a private investor.

"North City had been identified for sale as part of our capital recycling programme designed to fund current investment priorities," said chief executive Chris Gudgeon in a statement to the stock exchange Proceeds from the sale, due to settle in July 2018, will be used to pay down bank debt and provide further balance sheet flexibility, he said.

The sale follows Kiwi Property’s recent sale of The Majestic Centre, an office tower in Wellington, for $123.2 million.

Kiwi Property had planned to sell the shopping mall for $111 million and Majestic Tower for $119 million to NZX-listed NPT in a deal that would have seen the larger property investor acquire the minnow's management contract. However, that was rejected by NPT shareholders.

The Auckland-based real estate investor has been reshaping its property portfolio selling assets to fund new developments in areas such as Drury south of Auckland and expanding the Sylvia Park mall.

The stock last traded at $1.35 and has fallen 3.9 percent so far this year.

(BusinessDesk)

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