RBS £800 million Property Sell Off

Royal Bank of Scotland(RBS) is planning to dispose of £800 million of property, including the landmark Coutts building in the Strand, Central London, in a sale-and-lease-back deal.

The bank has hired Cushman & Wakefield, the commercial property consultant, to market the portfolio of 60 buildings, mainly offices occupied by RBS, which are spread throughout Britain.

The sell-off forms part of a continuing programme by the bank to maximise value from its operational property estate and make efficient use of its capital. Twice before, the bank has executed sale and leaseback deals from its own property portfolio, but this is understood to be the largest so far.

In the summer, RBS sold Citigroup Tower in Canary Wharf for around £1 billion the second-largest single property transaction ever in the UK. It is also believed to be preparing to put four hotels worth up to £650m on the market, including the Waldorf Hilton and Cumberland hotels in London. RBS owns 11 Hiltons.

The move comes after RBS’s takeover of ABN Amro, the Dutch bank, in a consort-ium with Santander, of Spain, and For-tis, of Belgium.

Santander is close to sealing a deal to sell its property holdings for about €4 billion (£2.7 billion). It is understood to be close to a sale of the most prominent buildings to Amancio Ortega, founder of Inditex, which owns Zara.