Nissan sells, leases back its HQ as part of restructuring

Nissan enters into 20-year leaseback of its HQ to gain additional income for its recovery plan

Nissan has not had the best of times as it continues to weather a financial storm. This year, Nissan halted vehicle production at the historic Oppama plant, closed its first-ever overseas production plant in Mexico, and sold its automobile factory in Indonesia. Nissan also had to close a few design studios and lay off some of its global workforce just to keep the lights on and save every possible amount of cash.

While the company is on track with its cost-savings program that has a target savings of JPY 500 billion (or PHP 192.5 billion) by fiscal year 2026, the company needs more funds to optimize its internal systems and improve its restructuring. With that, Nissan announced it has finalized the sale and leaseback of its global headquarters in Yokohama for JPY 97 billion (or PHP 37.3 billion).

As part of the transaction, Nissan will enter into a 20-year leaseback agreement, which ensures that no employees or operations within the company will be affected by the sale. This means that Nissan will lease its building while continuing to use it as its headquarters. Nissan expects to gain about JPY 73.9 billion (or PHP 28.5 billion) in income from the deal.

MJI Godo Kaisha is the buyer of the trust beneficiary rights of the land and building of Nissan’s HQ, while the 20-year lease agreement is with Mizuho Trust & Banking. The lease payment was not revealed, however, as the buyer did not want it disclosed.

The ongoing Re:Nissan recovery plan is gaining traction, according to the automaker, as fixed cost reductions are advancing quickly. The automaker claimed that over JPY 80 billion (or PHP 30.8 billion) has already been delivered in the first half of the fiscal year and is on track to go beyond JPY 150 billion (or PHP 57.8 billion) by the end of the fiscal year 2025. Combined with the reduced parts complexity and the shuttering of several factories globally, Nissan is confident it will be able to surpass its JPY 250 billion (or PHP 96.4 billion) target by FY 2026.

“Our first-half results reflect the challenges we face, yet they confirm that Nissan is firmly on the path to recovery. The second half will bring its own hurdles, but with focus, discipline, and the actions underway, I am confident we will deliver stronger results. Balancing optimism with prudent risk management under Re:Nissan, we are accelerating toward the future—prioritizing new products, key markets, and breakthrough technologies that will define Nissan’s next chapter,” said Ivan Espinosa, Nissan president & CEO.

Nissan is now shifting focus to the next phase of its recovery plan, redefining its product-market strategy and reinforcing partnerships. With the company planning more launches through FY 2027, Nissan is looking to broaden its customer appeal with new & improved products while it makes improvements to its organization and product offerings.

With Nissan able to contain its operating loss at JPY 27.7 billion (or PHP 10.6 billion) with a consolidated net revenue totaling JPY 5.6 trillion (or PHP 2.1 trillion) in the first half of FY 2025, it seems Nissan’s recovery plan is working. The only question now is, can Nissan sustain that with its new product launches and market adjustments on a global scale?