Traded as LSE: HMSO Operating income Revenue 236 million GBP (2015) | Industry Property Headquarters London, United Kingdom Founded 1942 | |
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Type Real estate investment trust Key people David Tyler (Chairman)
David Atkins (Chief Executive) Products Investment, Property management Stock price HMSO (LON) 577.42 GBX -1.08 (-0.19%)15 Mar, 2:45 PM GMT - Disclaimer CEO David J. Atkins (1 Oct 2009–) Profiles | ||
Hammerson plc is a major British property development and investment company. The firm switched to real estate investment trust (REIT) status when they were introduced in the United Kingdom in January 2007. It is traded on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index; it is also a constituent of the FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Europe index, among others. The majority of Hammerson's portfolio is in the United Kingdom, but is also operates in continental Europe, including operations in France, Ireland, Spain, and Germany. It invests mainly in offices and retail premises.
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History
The business was founded by Lewis Hammerson, who began to invest in property in 1942, converting houses into apartments. His company L.W. Hammerson & Co moved into the commercial property sector in 1948 and became a listed company in 1953. It first expanded outside the UK in the 1960s, when it moved into Australia, New Zealand and the United States. In the 1970s it ventured onto the continent and back in the UK it developed the Brent Cross Shopping Centre, which was the first major covered shopping centre in the country. In the 1990s the operations outside Europe were sold and further properties were acquired in Europe. The year 2003 saw the opening of the new Bullring shopping centre in Birmingham, which was one of the largest city centre retail developments ever built in the UK.
In October 2012, Hammerson sold its office property at Gresham Street in London for a total of £200 million to Kumpulan Wang Amanah Pencen, the Malaysian state pension fund.
Operations
The company's portfolio was valued at £8.8 billion as at 31 December 2015. Hammerson have interests in several major retail developments, including:
Hammerson, Henderson Group, and Future Fund together form the Birmingham Alliance, who are responsible for the Bullring, Martineau Place and the up-coming Martineau Galleries development.