Discontinued activities
In November 2007, Corio announced that it planned to sell its offices and industrial portfolio. This sale fits in with Corio’s strategy of using financial and human resources for investments in and management of dominant shopping centres. In recent years Corio has added value to the offices and industrial portfolio through renovations and lettings, and has thus made the portfolio ripe for sale. There was no prospect of further growth in sales or value, and this prompted the decision to sell.
On 25 April 2008 Corio and a consortium led by White Estate Investments (WEI) signed the purchase agreement for the entire Dutch offices and industrial portfolio for a total price of € 650 million. The portfolio consisted of 35 office buildings, 11 industrial buildings and two car parks. The gross lettable floor area was 430,000 m2. Transfer and payment took place on 30 September, with payment of € 622 million. Delivery of four properties with a combined value of € 25.8 million was deferred until agreed dates in 2008 and 2009. As set out in the sale and purchase agreement, Corio contributed € 2 million in the form of extra maintenance costs; this was deducted from the purchase price. Until the date of transfer, income from the portfolio accrued to Corio. Three properties were delivered in the fourth quarter of 2008, leaving one property which has been transferred in the meantime.
The value of the Dutch offices and industrial portfolio which does not qualify as ongoing business activities amounted to € 648 million at year-end 2007. Investments were made totalling € 10.8 million in the first three quarters of 2008, resulting in a net book loss on the sale of € 15.5 million, or 2.4%.
The sale of the portfolio on 30 September meant that net rental income for 2008 amounted to € 28.3 million (2007: € 37.4 million).
Jan Visser, CEO of Corio Nederland Kantoren B.V. until 30 September 2008, transferred to WEI on 1 October 2008 together with his team of 11, which had been responsible for managing the portfolio.
Source: Annual Report 2008, Chapter Review of operations, page 60 (PDF, 2,1 MB)
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