Union Investment and Generali to buy Puerto Venecia mall for €475m

Union Investment and Generali Real Estate have formed a 50:50 joint venture to buy the Puerto Venecia shopping resort in Spain for around €475m.

Vendors Intu Properties and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) invested €451m in 2015 to own the 120,000sqm shopping centre and retail park in Zaragoza.

Puerto Venecia, which has 193 shops and a retail park, receives around 19m visitors a year.

Announcing the deal, Union Investment said it will acquire its 50% share for the open-ended real estate fund, Unilmmo: Deutschland.

Generali Real Estate will acquire its 50% on behalf of Generali Shopping Center Fund SCS.

Henrike Waldburg, head of investment management retail at Union Investment Real Estate, said: “Puerto Venecia is a shopping area with a high leisure value and a correspondingly high attraction factor for the people in the Aragonia region.

“It is by far the leading shopping destination in this region and therefore fits perfectly with our investment strategy, which focuses on best performing shopping centres and well-structured retail parks.”

Aldo Mazzocco, CEO at Generali Real Estate, said: “This is the first investment of our pan-European Shopping Center Fund, launched in May 2019 and supported by our dedicated boutique Axis with a precise strategy of cherry-picking of prime retail in Europe.”