AEW Europe has increased the assets under management of Fondis, its French retail property fund, to over €500 mln following the acquisition of a three-asset portfolio in Cannes and Lille for a total of €60 mln.
The acquisition come on the eve of the opening of the annual Mapic international retail real estate fair in Cannes on Wednesday.
Two of the properties are luxury boutiques in Cannes which are let to Céline, a luxury brand owned by the LMVH group, and Giorgio Armani. The assets are located at 42/43 Boulevard de la Croisette, a prime location 400 m from the Palais des Festivals, alongside a large number of luxury boutiques and between two five-star hotels, the Majestic and the Grand Hôtel.
The third property is a 1,600 m2, two-floor retail unit at 15-17 Rue de Béthune in Lille, the northern French city's main shopping street, which is let to fashion brand Mango.
Stéphane Sebban, Fondis fund manager at AEW Europe, commented: 'These acquisitions are in line with the fund's strategy to focus on well-located retail assets in France's major cities and also demonstrate our team's ability to source attractive investment opportunities on behalf of our clients. Fondis has a remaining investment capacity of €200 mln, which we will look to deploy over the coming months and we have a healthy pipeline of potential opportunities in place.'
The addition of three retail assets lifts the value of the Fondis portfolio to over €500 mln, said Raphaël Brault, head of France at AEW Europe. 'We will continue to seek opportunities to support the growth and diversification of the portfolio.'
