Aberdeen Asset Management has announced the acquisition by one of its funds of a newly built retail park in Olen, 35 kilometres east of Antwerp in Belgium. Olen Shopping Park was acquired by Aberdeen European Balanced Property Fund from VLaeco, a joint venture between Belgian construction companies Cordeel and Aertssen.
Aberdeen Asset Management has announced the acquisition by one of its funds of a newly built retail park in Olen, 35 kilometres east of Antwerp in Belgium. Olen Shopping Park was acquired by Aberdeen European Balanced Property Fund from VLaeco, a joint venture between Belgian construction companies Cordeel and Aertssen.
The financial details were not disclosed, but PropertyEU estimates the investment volume was in the region of EUR 50 mln.
The property comprises 30,880 m2 of food and non-food retail space and 1,500 free parking spaces. The tenants include Decathlon, Apple, Gamma, Krefell and Albert Heijn.
Aberdeen said that due to its location, scale and tenant mix, Olen Shopping Park has become a dominant shopping destination within its catchment area in the Kempen region with over 400,000 inhabitants. The roofs of the retail park are used to generate renewable energy by photovoltaic solar panels.
Including this transaction, the gross asset value of the Aberdeen European Balanced Property Fund has grown to EUR 516 mln.
Gert-Jan Kapiteyn, fund manager of the Aberdeen European Balanced Property Fund, commented: 'This acquisition fits very well with the strategy of the fund to expand the allocation into Belgian retail property'.
The fund remains open to similar investment opportunities, he added, particularly in Germany and France where the focus is on retail, office and industrial/logistics property.
