SKF (Sweden) sold its Research and Development Centre in the Netherlands to the Dutch real estate group WS Vastgoed Westersuyker N.V.. SKF will lease back the 30-year-old facility.

Via the sale/leaseback arrangement, SKF can report profit on the sale and reduce the amount of capital used in the business.

Selling, then leasing back the same asset is an increasingly popular way for companies to report better asset utilization. With fewer fixed assets on the books, the company appears more efficient in its financial results. And the company benefits from a cash infusion from the sale. In SKF's case, the sale price was LNG 44,600 and they will report one-time profit of approximately SEK 100 million (USD $11.6 million) before taxes for the first quarter of 2000.