CBRE Global Investors' European Shopping Centre Fund (ESCF) and the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) have acquired a shopping centre in Sweden at a 6.1% yield.

CBRE Global Investors' European Shopping Centre Fund (ESCF) and the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) have acquired a shopping centre in Sweden at a 6.1% yield.

The investment volume was not disclosed for the 37,000 m2 Valbo Köpcentrum in Gävle, a city located on the east coast 173 kilometres north of Stockholm.

The seller was cooperative Konsum Gavleborg. Cushman & Wakefield, PWC and Linklaters acted for CBRE Global Investors.

The centre comprises 60 retail units spread over a single level and offers 2,000 free car parking spaces. The retail units are let predominantly to well-established national tenants including Coop, H&M, Clas Ohlson and Kapp-Ahl and is 98% occupied. Some 250,000 people live in the catchment area.

ESCF
Florencio Beccar, fund manager of ESCF, said: 'ESCF was seeking to gain further exposure to the stable Swedish market, given the historically sound economic fundamentals and prospects for continued growth. Rents for prime Swedish shopping centres have been growing in the period 2009-2012 and we believe that dominant well established and well managed schemes will continue to outperform the market average, making this a solid asset to have in the ESCF portfolio.'

The CBRE European Shopping Centre Fund was launched in December 2010. It is a closed-end, seven-year lifetime fund. It is now fully invested with seven assets totalling over €650 mln assets under management.

ESCF has 26 investors who have committed €305 mln of equity plus €86 million commitment from TRS for partnership transactions. The shopping centres in the ESCF portfolio are: Galeries Saint-Lambert, Belgium; Centre Commercial Boissénart, France; Tyresö Centrum, Sweden; Leine Center, Germany; StadtCenter Düren, Germany; Galeria Mazovia, Poland and Valbo Köpcentrum, Sweden.