Kingfisher parts from property

Chartwell Land, Kingfisher’s specialist retail property company, has sold 15 B&Q retail parks plus a further five retail parks under development to a consortium of property companies. The purchase price amounts to £ 695 mio (€ 1.046 bn). The stores, which Chartwell originally acquired for £ 332 mio (€ 500 mio), will not be closed down: B&Q will rent them back from the new owners. Chairman Francis Mackay declared that this is another step in Kingfisher’s strategic transformation into an international pure-play DIY retailer. The group continues to retain property to the value of some £ 2 billion (€ 3 bn), of which a portfolio worth around £ 800 mio ( € 1.204 bn) is in the UK, mainly occupied by B&Q.