Global investor AEW has acquired a prime, retail-led asset in Budapest on behalf of the Europe City Retail Fund for €18 mln. Situated at 3 Vörösmarty Square, the deal marks the fund's first purchase in Hungary.
The seven-storey property provides 3,072 m2 of retail and office space and was previously the Luxus department store. The first two floors are anchored by the capital’s recently renovated Berskha flagship store and the Italian-style restaurant chain, Vapiano. The second floor is vacant and will be renovated and let as office space. The remainder of the building is residential.
'This is one of the best retail assets in Hungary, reflecting our highly selective acquisition strategy that, in the CEE region, will focus predominantly on Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic,' said Nikos Koulouras, co-head of investments - private equity Funds at AEW.
'These core regional economies have benefited from high GDP growth, with falling unemployment and strong retail sales, underpinning our decision to broaden the portfolio into these geographies,' Koulouras added.
'We continue to leverage AEW’s extensive network to identify prime assets that are supported by positive fundamentals, across Europe’s major cities as we work to assemble a high quality portfolio that will deliver value to our investors,' said Christina Ofschonka, fund manager Europe City Retail at AEW.
AEW has been active in CEE since 1992 and manages a portfolio in the region that is valued at €920 mln, as at 30 September 2018. The latest acquisition brings the City Retail fund's und’s portfolio to 17 assets across nine cities, including Copenhagen, Dublin, Madrid, Milan and Paris, with a total value of over €580 mln.
AEW was advised by Dentons and JLL and the vendor by DLA.
