British Land To Raise $1.25 Bil From Meadowhall Securitisation

LONDON-British Land has launched its long-awaited securitisation of Meadowhall, its 1.2 million-sf shopping mall on the outskirts of Sheffield, South Yorkshire. British Land bought the mall for £1.18 billion ($1.7 billion) in 1999, and it was independently valued by CB Hillier Parker last month at £1.28 billion ($1.86 billion).

Morgan Stanley, The Royal Bank of Scotland and Schroder Salomon Smith Barney have been appointed to manage the multi-tranche bond issue which is expected to raise £850 to £875 million ($1.23 to $1.27 billion). Pre-marketing of the bonds will begin shortly, with the issue formally launched within the next four weeks.

Nick Ritblat, Director, said, ‘The proposed securitisation follows the successful completion of the current cycle of rent reviews at Meadowhall and is in line with British Land’s strategy of leveraging its portfolio with long-dated, flexible financing at competitive rates of interest’.

Earlier this year British Land raised £575 million ($835 million) from the securitisation of a portfolio of supermarkets let to Sainsbury’s.