Atrium buys and sells in three countries

CEE shopping centre specialist Atrium European Real Estate has announced the EUR 11 mln acquisition of a 22,500 m² land plot next to its recently-acquired Promenada shopping centre in Warsaw. The site was bought from Pirelli Pekao Real Estate.

Atrium had already planned to increase Promenada's retail offering and the acquisition of this plot provides the company with the potential to further extend the centre in order to create additional value, it said. The transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including the closing of the acquisition of Promenada which is expected in Q2 2011.

Furthermore, Atrium said it has sold a land plot in Samsun, Turkey, and 422 apartments in Ufa, Russia, for a total consideration of over EUR 33 mln. On the Black Sea coast, Atrium has divested a wholly-owned subsidiary company which owns a land plot in Samsun to retail developer Renaissance Development for $25 mln (EUR 18.3 mln). The transaction is expected to complete in the second half of 2011. The sale was implemented as the Samsun project no longer fits with Atrium's development strategy for Eastern Turkey, Atrium said.

The company has also completed the sale of 422 residential apartments offering 21,820 m² in Ufa, Russia, to the municipality of Ufa for EUR 15 mln. The construction of the apartments was completed in 2009 as part of the company's 2005 agreement with the municipality. In return for the construction of new residential apartments, Atrium will obtain a lease agreement to a land plot, on which it plans to develop a shopping centre.

'The sale of the two assets in Russia and Turkey further rationalises Atrium's pipeline and allows us to focus our resources on those sites and developments that we believe have significant potential and better complement our existing portfolio,' said Chief Executive Rachel Lavine.