A consortium led by Munich-based family office AM alpha has acquired a retail park in Sintra, Portugal, part of the largest retail hub near Lisbon, for an undisclosed price.
The joint venture which includes several European family offices picked up the retail park from Ceetrus, a global property company owned by French retail group Auchan.
Completed in 2000, the Sintra retail hub offers 130,000 m2 of modern retail space on the easily accessible A37 motorway. With a 15-minute drive time, the park serves a catchment area of 580,000 people.
Fully leased to 15 renowned tenants, including major electronics brands (Media Markt, Rádio Popular), homeware stores (Casa, Hôma), and popular restaurants (McDonald's, Pizza Hut), the park boasts a diverse and established tenant mix.
Rafael Macia, head of Iberia at AM alpha, said: ‘Portuguese retail parks - in the right location and with the right concept - are a very attractive asset class. We recognised this early and acquired the BPlanet retail park south of Lisbon in 2019. AM alpha has continuously expanded its portfolio in Portugal in recent years. In addition to retail parks, several office buildings have been acquired in Lisbon and Porto in recent years. With our extensive investment experience and on-site expertise, we can achieve above-average returns, especially in a challenging market environment. Within Europe, the Iberian Peninsula will remain one of our investment focus areas.’
Shopping in Portugal mainly takes place on the outskirts of cities, as retail in the city centre has been restricted for many years. As a result, large retail parks have developed on the outskirts of many Portuguese cities.
