German food-retail real estate fund manager Greenman has entered into a €95.5m framework agreement with developer Schoofs Immobilien.
The agreement will allow the Greenman Open fund the right to acquire three new food anchored retail assets in Germany.
The new centres will be located in Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate. Once complete, the centres will have total lettable area of 29,691sqm.
James McEvoy, head of acquisitions at Greenman, said: “This deal is part of our strategy to innovate and create new ways of working with our partners to unlock opportunities in the German food retail sector.
“As well as highlighting our continued confidence in the food and necessity retail sector, which has proved extremely resilient during the current crisis, it also provides us with an opportunity to benefit from the significant dislocation between demand and availability of suitable food retail property across Germany.”
McEvoy said Greenman Open, the largest German food-retail focused fund on the market has continued to see steady inflows of equity, despite the volatility of the past few months, as investors look for income.
“By partnering with Schoofs, we will get better access to development opportunities in excellent locations, allowing us to continue to expand the portfolio and reach our target assets under management of €1bn by 2021.”
Mohamed Younis, managing director of Schoofs, said: “This deal shows that despite the COVID-19 lockdown, construction works are continuing as normal in Germany.
“It is also a great opportunity for us to partner with a reputable and reliable international buyer as we push forward our plans to develop these three assets.”
To read the digital edition of the latest IPE Real Assets magazine click here.