California-based Denny’s Corporation has agreed to sell the majority of its company-owned, franchisee-operated restaurant properties.

The 66 outlets will be sold to National Retail Properties – a real estate investment trust – for around US$67m (£35.6m, 53m euro). The transaction is expected to close within 30 days.

The proceeds of the sale will be used to reduce the outstanding balance on Denny’s $US219m (£116.5m, 173m euro) first lien term loan.

CEO Nelson Marchioli said: “We are very pleased with the progress we have made on our initiative to unlock additional value through the sale of real estate assets. After closing this transaction we will have sold 80 properties this year for gross proceeds of around US$81m (£43m, 64m euro). These proceeds should allow us to meaningfully reduce our debt, thereby strengthening our balance sheet.”

After completing this transaction, Denny’s will have 13 franchisee-operated properties still up for sale, which it expects to dispose of within the next twelve months. At this time, Denny’s has no plans to sell company-operated restaurant properties other than in conjunction with the sale of a restaurant to a franchisee.

Denny’s is America's largest full-service family restaurant chain, consisting of 540 company-owned units and 1,025 franchised and licensed units, with operations in the US, Canada, Costa Rica, Guam, Mexico, New Zealand and Puerto Rico. Details: www.dennys.com