Intu to sell stake in London mall at slim post-Brexit premium

Intu Properties has agreed to sell its majority stake in a shopping centre in the London borough of Bromley for a price tag 1.1 percent higher than its value before Britain's vote to leave the European Union.

Britain's 900 billion pound commercial property market was one of the biggest victims of the turmoil that followed the June referendum, and at one point more than 18 billion pounds worth of commercial property funds were suspended.

Commercial property deal activity has since picked up as a steep drop in sterling has encouraged overseas buyers and investors.

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Intu, owner of popular British shopping malls such as the Trafford Centre in Manchester, said on Tuesday that it had agreed to sell its stake of a little more than 63 percent in the intu Bromley site to state-owned Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation for 177.9 million pounds.

That compares with the mall's estimated value of 175.9 million pounds in June.

Intu said that the price indicated "continuing investment demand" for UK shopping centres, despite market sentiment indicating a post-Brexit decline in values across many sectors, including retail property.

UK commercial property values slipped 0.21 percent in September, at a slower pace than in July and August, the IPD real estate index, compiled by MSCI, showed this month.

"Consumer confidence has remained robust and UK unemployment remains at low levels, but financial markets have been and are likely to continue to be turbulent," Intu said in a statement.

The company reiterated that it expects like-for-like net rental income for 2016 to be in the range of 3 percent to 4 percent, having increased its target in July.

Year-on-year footfall to date was up by 1.2 percent in its UK malls, Intu said, adding that it had an opportunity to improve the tenant mix at its malls by re-letting stores formerly leased to collapsed department stores company BHS.