Kirkcaldie to sell Harbour City property in single sale

Kirkcaldie to sell Harbour City property in single sale

By Paul McBeth

July 17 (BusinessDesk) - Upmarket Wellington retailer Kirkcaldie & Stains says both the front and rear buildings of its Harbour City Centre property will be sold in a single sale and purchase agreement, rather than separately. The stock climbed 6.1 percent before the announcement, made after the close of trading yesterday.

The stock rose 13 cents on small volumes to $2.25 ahead before the statement yesterday. Due diligence of the new deal is expected to be completed next month, though that may be extended, after which Kirkcaldie will announce the full details.

"The net effect of the new agreement is that the properties will be sold at the same time, as the properties are no longer required to be separated," the company said in a statement. "The new agreement is only conditional on the purchaser carrying out due diligence investigations of the properties as a whole (‘due diligence condition’) and the approval of the transaction by the company’s shareholders (‘shareholder approval condition’)."

The front building, a historically significant structure that formerly housed Kirkcaldie's long-defunct competitor DIC, accounted for most of the $50 million valuation ascribed to the property.

Kirkcaldie plans to recapitalise its retail unit from the proceeds of the asset sales before returning any surplus to shareholders.

(BusinessDesk)

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