Fitch affirms Hammerson

Fitch Ratings said it affirmed Hammerson plc’s long-term issuer default rating at BBB+ and senior unsecured rating of A- and removed them from rating watch negative.

The agency also affirmed the short-term issuer default rating at F2.

The outlook is stable.

The actions follow Hammerson's board withdrawing its support for the Intu acquisition and subsequent agreement of Intu's board to terminate the offer.

“The termination of the acquisition alleviates the risk of a negative impact on Hammerson's leverage metrics and unencumbered asset ratio,” Fitch said in a news release.

“Fitch expects Hammerson to return to a deleveraging path and to focus on developing its portfolio. Hammerson's leverage remains high relative to similarly rated peers and increased secured debt in the company's joint ventures leaves little headroom for its unsecured instrument rating. A weaker UK retail market is a further risk to the rating.”

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