Aventus Retail Property Fund settled the sale of the Shepparton Home retail center in Victoria, Australia, and signed an unconditional deal to also shed its Tweed Hub retail asset in New South Wales, also in Australia.
The two retail properties will be sold for a combined A$60.1 million, a price that marks a 6.5% premium over the assets' book value as at June 30, as well as a weighted yield of 7.42%, according to a release.
The undisclosed buyer of the Shepparton Home asset sale received a vacancy guarantee retention deal amounting to A$900,000.
Aventus CEO Darren Holland said the fund's strategy of disposing of smaller regional retail centers to keep a strong balance sheet and reduce its gearing was the reason for the sale of the two properties.
Additionally, the asset sales will bring an expected year-over-year growth in funds from operations within the lower end of the 2% to 4% range per unit for the 2018 financial year. The fund recorded a per-unit FFO of 17.7 Australian cents for the 2017 financial year, which ended June 30.
