French supermarket retailer Casino, which has embarked on a programme to relinquish assets worth around EUR2bn (US$2.39bn) by 2007, has sold its future HQ in St Etienne to UK investment fund Matrix Securities for EUR 86.3m.


Casino will rent the property, which will house 2,200 staff in 40,000 square metres of office space from May next year.
 
Assets-shedding includes the sale of the 42.39% stake in its Belgian subsidiary, GMB, to Louis Delhaize for EUR 850m and the sale of 15% of the capital in its property arm Mercialys for EUR 20m.
 
The group is also looking for a buyer for its cafeterias, which could raise between EUR 500m to EUR 600m.