British Land set to invest EUR 350m in Spain

British Land and the closed-end fund Pillar Retail Europark Fund (PREF) have formed a joint venture to acquire Nueva Condomina, a regional shopping centre and retail park in Murcia, southeastern Spain for around EUR 350 mln. The newly developed site is owned by Deparcom, a joint venture between Eroski and Grupo Trusam. Property consultant Cushman Wakefield advised British Land and PREF.

Nueva Condomina is a 120,000 m² complex consisting of a 60,200 m² two-storey enclosed shopping centre and a 44,400 m² retail park and 6,500 parking spaces. The mall includes a 15-screen multiplex and a 13,700 m² hypermarket. The regional catchment is about 2.5 million people within 60 minutes.

The shopping mall opened in September last year and the retail park is due for completion this month. Both the centre and the park are 96% let. Tenants include Media Markt as well as retailers Zara, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Primark, H&M, Benetton, Etam, and Cortefeil.

British Land's Valentine Beresford said: 'Prime out-of-town retail developments of this standard are becoming very rare in Spain and there is clear evidence that more international retailers are pushing into the country which will bode well for real rental growth.'

British Land owns retail parks in Spain, Italy, Portugal, Belgium, Switzerland and France through its property advisor role and a 40% holding in PREF. PREF is a seven year closed-end fund created in 2004 investing in out-of-town retail parks in the Eurozone. It is advised by British Land European Fund Management, a partnership between British Land and Doric Properties.