Liberty International split move welcomed
Property experts today welcomed proposals by Covent Garden owner Liberty International to split into two in one of the biggest corporate restructurings for the sector.
Liberty plans to divide its £6.1 billion UK portfolio into two separate listed companies as it battles to bounce back from the worst property crash in decades.
One of the companies will be focused on its £1.7 billion London property empire, which includes Covent Garden, Earls Court and Olympia. The other will be made up of £4.4 billion of shopping centres, including Lakeside in Essex, the Metro Centre in Newcastle and the Arndale in Manchester.
Liberty said it was "actively considering" the move and its shares rose 4.8p to 457.1p, an impressive performance given the general sell-off of FTSE 100 companies.
Harm Meijer, an analyst at JPMorgan Chase in London, said: "Ignoring what the costs might be, a break-up would enhance shareholder value. The London portfolio would perform quite strongly as a separate company."
Robert Promisel, manager of the Invista Global Property Securities fund, said a demerger was "logical". He said: "I am encouraged by what Liberty is doing. It is out of character and inconsistent with what they have done historically but I think this change in direction will serve shareholders well."
