UK lender RBS is set to place three Swedish shopping centres on the market, PropertyEU has learned. The three inner-city malls are to be marketed as a portfolio valued at about EUR 200 mln. 

The portfolio is expected to attract interest from Sweden’s large pension and insurance schemes, as well as cross-border investors.

The assets are part of the CentrumKompaniet portfolio acquired by UK private investment firm Boultbee for about EUR 1 bn from the municipality of Stockholm in 2007. The deal was financed by a consortium of seven banks led by RBS. In May Boultbee decided to sell its 51% stake in Centeni, the former joint venture company established by Boultbee and collapsed investment bank Lehman Brothers to acquire 10 shopping centres in Stockholm, to concentrate on other markets. 

The financial structure of the portfolio came under pressure after Lehman Brothers went bankrupt in 2008. RBS first took over Lehman's 49% stake in the joint venture before buying out Boultbee to assume operational control of Centeni before the summer. The bank now plans to sell three of the largest assets and hold on to another that requires refurbishment. The six remaining assets, which only account for about 10% of the overall portfolio, are also earmarked for disposal. One has already been sold.