August 5 2026 15:50
Manchester Arndale
JSE-listed Hammerson Plc, the landlord who owns numerous large retail centres in the UK and Europe, recently reported healthy growth in its income and returns in its financial results for the six months to end-June 2026.
Hammerson saw its total net income climb 40% during the reporting period. It also declared an interim dividend of 9.67 pence per ordinary share for the financial year to end-December 31, 2026. The dividend will be paid on October 15 this year, to shareholders on the register at the close of business on September 4, 2026. “The payment will be made as a Property Income Distribution, net of withholding tax where appropriate”, it said.
The company will not offer a scrip dividend alternative, but shareholders who wish to receive their dividend in the form of shares may participate in the Dividend Reinvestment Plan. Shareholders registered on the South African Branch Register should contact their CSDP or broker for further information.
Shares will become ex-dividend on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange on September 2, 2026, and on the London Stock Exchange and Euronext Dublin on September 3, 2026.
A 20% UK withholding tax applies to the interim dividend as it will be paid as a Property Income Distribution. South African shareholders may apply to HMRC for a refund of the difference between the 20% UK withholding tax and the UK/South African Double Tax Treaty rate of 15%.
Hammerson has some 532,054,593 ordinary shares in issue, with 9,032 of those shares held in Treasury. The board retains the discretion to withdraw or modify the terms of the interim dividend at any time.
Hammerson will raise up to £190m (R4.23bn) to acquire a 50% interest in Manchester Arndale, the largest city-centre shopping mall in the UK outside London, from Palma Arndale BidCo. Hammerson already owns the Bullring Centre, which is the largest shopping centre in Birmingham.
Hammerson is paying £218m for Arndale, with the price representing a net initial yield of 7.8%. The equity raise will comprise the issue of new shares through a placing to institutional investors, a retail offer, and a subscription by directors including the CEO and chief financial officer.
“This is another important step in our strategy to increase scale through acquiring high-quality, retail-led destinations. Manchester is one of Europe’s most dynamic and fastest-growing urban economies, benefiting from strong demographics, excellent connectivity and the largest retail catchment outside London,” said the group’s CEO, Rob Wilkinson.
The institutional placing was being conducted through an accelerated bookbuild.
Wilkinson said the acquisition significantly expands their scale and footprint in a top-tier city centre destination in the UK, one of the company’s core markets.
“The Arndale is a high quality, scale asset with high occupancy and an affluent and growing catchment of 6.4m, the largest outside of London, with an annual footfall of 45-million people. There remain compelling income and value creation opportunities from leveraging Hammerson’s integrated platform to drive consumer, brand appeal and ultimately rents,” he said.
The acquisition and share placing were expected to be earnings accretive immediately. The group’s guidance for the 2026 financial year was increased to total net rental income growth of 28%; 25% underlying, 3% from the acquisition, and earnings of growth of 27% to £132m. The previous guidance was £120m, and the new figure includes £7m from the acquisition.
“The transaction will be immediately earnings accretive, and we see a clear path to income and value creation, leveraging Hammerson’s platform to enhance the destination and deliver attractive long-term returns for our shareholders,” Wilkinson said.
City-centre destinations have performed well under the recently added management team led by Wilkinson In the first half of 2026, group like-for-like footfall was up 3% year-on-year with the UK and Ireland up 3%, and France up 4%, whilst national indices were flat or slightly negative.
The highest increases were at centres which had received special attention. This included the repositioning of stores and new entertainment offerings. Group like-for-like sales rose 2% year-on-year, with France leading the way up 4%.
The assets’ occupancy increased one percentage point year-on-year to 96% in the first half of their financial year to June 30, representing the highest first half occupancy in the like-for-like portfolio for seven years.
“Hammerson’s strategy is now naturally broadening to external acquisitions. The Arndale represents Hammerson’s first major external acquisition in over a decade,” said Wilkinson.
“What was already proving to be a strong underlying performance this year is now further enhanced by today’s acquisition. We are now guiding FY26 earnings to be 27% greater than FY25, strengthening our path of sustainable growth, and underpinning a new medium-term outlook,” he said.
Hammerson also has a strategy of unlocking the value in its land. Hammerson has some 60 acres of land in the UK and Ireland which represents “a significant opportunity for value creation and capital recycling.
Year to date, including the partial disposal of Dublin Central after June 30, 2026, £75m of strategic land holdings had been disposed of at a substantial premium to book value.
“For the remaining book value of £291m, we remain open-minded on the potential opportunities to maximise value with the optimal delivery depending on market circumstances and the context and scale of each opportunity,” he said.
“Further acquisitions will require minimal incremental resource relative to the scale of earnings acquired and we therefore expect to continue to generate significant operating leverage as we grow,” he said.
alistair@propertyflash.co.za
