Benson Elliot, the UK-based private equity real estate fund manager, is buying the Imaginalia shopping centre in the southeastern Spanish city of Albacete from funds managed by AXA Real Estate.
Benson Elliot, the UK-based private equity real estate fund manager, is buying the Imaginalia shopping centre in the southeastern Spanish city of Albacete from funds managed by AXA Real Estate.
Financial details were not disclosed by the parties but the price is thought to be in the region of €20 mln.
Benson Elliot is planning a major capital expenditure programme to transform the 45,000 m2 shopping centre which was completed in 2006 by Spanish developer Procom. The centre is currently 82% occupied by a mix of 33 tenants, with major tenants including Alcampo (hypermarket), Media Markt (consumer electronics), Yelmo (cinema) and Toys R Us (toys). The centre provides surface and underground parking for 2,100 cars.
Albacete, in the autonomous community of Castilla-La-Mancha, is a regionally dominant city with a diversified economy and a growing population of 172,000. Located halfway between Madrid and the Valencia/Alicante coast, Albacete is seeing population and economic growth thanks to Spain's economic recovery.
EARLY ENTRANT
Benson Elliot entered the Spanish market in 2011 with its Cornerstone office development project in Barcelona. Commenting on the latest deal, Trish Barrigan, Benson Elliot Senior partner, said: 'We were an early entrant into the Spanish market, as past experience in the country gave us the confidence to anticipate a return to economic growth and a recovery of the Spanish consumer. Imaginalia already attracts nearly four million visitors each year, and we believe our plans for the centre - as the Spanish recovery accelerates - will drive those numbers significantly higher.'
Benson Elliot's in-house retail team will oversee the re-configuration and re-positioning of Imaginalia, Barrigan added. 'We expect to make Imaginalia a more vibrant retail destination, in part by enhancing the leisure offer. Initial conversations with potential occupiers have given us confidence that there is significant demand amongst retailers to be present in a rejuvenated Imaginalia.'
Cushman & Wakefield acted as adviser to AXA Real Estate.
Benson Elliot has a pan-European investment platform comprising office, retail, hotel and residential assets with €850 mln of equity under management. The firm is led by Marc Mogull, Trish Barrigan and Joseph De Leo.