Thursday, March 18, 2010

Liberty Enters £41 Million Sale Leaseback of Flagship London Store

City A.M. - March 17, 2010

Liberty yesterday said it is being pursued by more than one suitor after the West End department store confirmed it had sold its building for £41.5m in a leaseback scheme.

The company sold the freehold interest in the 125,000-square foot store, off Regent Street, to private property investment firm Sirosa.

Liberty will take a 30-year lease on the building at an initial annual rent of £2.1m, with five yearly fixed rent reviews. The firm, which is 68 per cent owned by property group MWB Holdings, was set up 135 years ago. The deal still depends on the agreement of MWB and other investors.

Meanwhile Liberty admitted that it has been the target of more than one takeover approach.

A statement yesterday said: “Liberty confirms that it has received approaches which may or may not lead to an offer being made for the company.

“At this stage, it is too early for the board to determine whether or not these discussions will result in any formal offer being made for the company.”

The company has said that the sale of the building will not affect any talks in connection with a takeover bid for the business. Liberty has not identified the takeover contenders. Sphere: Related Content

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