EG Group agreed to the sale and leaseback on a portfolio of its sites on the U.S. East Coast to Realty Income Corp. for a gross consideration of approximately $1.5 billion.
This portfolio — which EG America will continue to operate and trade — comprises 415 store assets under the Cumberland Farms, Fastrac, Tom Thumb and Sprint banners. EG Group received a high degree of interest from multiple blue-chip investors and attractive terms for the transaction.
The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2023, subject to customary closing conditions, and EG Group will use net proceeds to repay debt. The assets represents just around 15% of its total freehold property in 10 markets, reflecting how its estate continues to be underpinned by strong asset backing globally. Following completion, EG will pay an initial rent of $103 million per annum with respect to these assets. Further information will be provided to investors in EG Group’s Q4 and full-year 2022 trading update call on March 9, 2023.
This transaction is in line with management’s commitment to reduce total net leverage through debt reduction and free cash flow generation, as communicated in EG Group’s Q3 trading update in November 2022.
“Today’s announcement demonstrates the progress we continue to make to put in place a robust capital structure for the medium term that will underpin our long-term strategy and represents an important first step in this process,” Zuber Issa, co-founder and co-CEO of EG Group, commented.
