Orion Capital Managers has sold a Madrid retail asset to Klépierre.

The Plenilunio centre east of the Spanish capital is worth €375m, according to Klépierre.

The French property company said it would use Spain’s new REIT regime (SOCIMI) to complete the deal this month.

The 70,000sqm asset will, it said, add to its portfolio of Spanish retail properties.

Population growth was one reason for the purchase, the firm said, with 14,000 new residential housing units being built in the centre’s catchment area.

Klépierre said purchasing power within the area was 30% above the Spanish national average, with 33% of households in the highest income bracket.

Orion sold the asset for its European Real Estate Fund III, which closed a capital-raising programme for the European opportunity fund, breaking its publicly stated fundraising target of €1bn, in 2009.

The fund was backed by capital commitments from US and European pension and endowment funds.

Klépierre said the centre, with 10.5m visitors annually, was 99.3% let.

The listed firm is merging with Dutch contemporary Corio, having reached an agreement to merge last year.

The new listed retail giant will have a combined market cap of €10bn.