AXA Real Estate has sold a 50% stake in a French shopping centre to Dutch listed property company Eurocommercial Properties.
The sale of the interest in the Etrembières Shopping Centre for €43.3m comes four years after AXA Real Estate took full ownership on behalf of AXA insurance companies.
Since then, the shopping mall, close to the Swiss border and seven miles from Geneva, has undergone renovation and a change in tenants.
The co-ownership of the building marks the first time that Eurocommercial Properties has entered into a joint venture in the retail market.
Laurent Lavergne, head of fund management, separate accounts at AXA Real Estate, said: “This transaction allows our client to diversify its portfolio while maintaining a 50% stake in this prime shopping centre.”
He added that is was opportunity to combine the management expertise of AXA Real Estate and Eurocommercial Properties “to capitalise on structural retail trends and adapt the tenant mix”.
