Carrefour sells further 2 malls to new retail JV

Carrefour's property arm has announced the sale of a further two shopping centres worth over €80 mln to its newly formed retail partnership with institutional investors.

The French retail giant said last month it was joining forces with eight institutional investors to create a new property firm which will own €2.7 bn worth of shopping centres.

Well-informed market sources told PropertyEU that Carrefour is taking a 42% stake in the new shopping centre owner while its shareholder, private equity firm Colony Capital, insurers Predica and Cardif as well as US investment manager Pimco and Sogecap hold the bulk of the remaining stake. None will hold more than 15% of the new company.

In the latest acquisition, the retail joint venture is purchasing the new 42,000 m2 Mondevillage retail park in Mondeville and the Pau Lescar property in France.

Last month, the company acquired a total of 172 malls which it plans to reposition, extend or redevelop. In the biggest of two deals, Carrefour's new unit bought a portfolio of 127 Carrefour-anchored retail galleries in a €2 bn deal. The package, which was owned by Klépierre (83%) and insurer CNP (17%), comprises small to medium-sized retail galleries which Klépierre initially acquired from Carrefour in 2000 and 2001.

The second acquisition involved another 45 French malls with a value of €700 mln which Carrefour transferred to the new joint company. On completion of the deals, the new unit will own €2.7 bn of assets with over 800,000 m2 of retail space.

The move reflects a new strategy launched by CEO Georges Plassat aimed at increasing the control of the hypermarkets the group operates by owning and managing the surrounding sites and retail areas. ‘Carrefour has a view of what its consumers should experience when visiting its hypermarkets and adjoining sites. It has done a smart deal, in which it takes control of the portfolio, shares it with other institutional investors, and forks out a very limited amount of cash,’ commented a person close to the deal who wished to remain anonymous.