Atrium snaps up Czech mall for €83m

Atrium European Real Estate has acquired the AFI Palác shopping centre in Pardubice, Czech Republic, from AFI Europe for €83 mln in cash.

Atrium said the acquisition is in line with its strategy to 'buy prime income-producing shopping centres in order to become the dominant player in its core markets of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia'.

Alexander Rafajlovic of Cushman & Wakefield, which advised Atrium on the acquisition, said: 'This transaction represents the positive shift in investor sentiment towards established, dominant shopping centres in regional cities across Central Europe.'

AFI Palác Pardubice was originally developed in 2008 and comprises 20,900 m2 of retail GLA across four storeys, including a 3,255 m2 Cinema City, a 1,725 m2 conference centre and 542 car parking spaces.

The freehold property is currently 96.4% let to a number of anchor tenants including H&M, Deichmann, Intersport, New Yorker and Lindex.

The deal comes hot on the heels of Atrium's purchase of the Focus Mall in Bydgoszcz, Poland for €122 mln.

Commenting on the acquisition, Rachel Lavine, group CEO of Atrium, said: 'This acquisition demonstrates our ability to deploy capital into quality assets, dominant in their catchment areas within the strong cities of our core markets. The AFI Palác complements and further strengthens our existing Czech portfolio, as well as enlarges our exposure to one of the strongest economies in the region.'

Atrium is a shopping centre investor, manager and developer in Central and Eastern Europe with a portfolio of 153 shopping centres and retail properties valued at €2.5 bn.