CBRE GI buys mall in France for EUR 68m

CBRE Global Investors has acquired a shopping centre in France on behalf of its European Shopping Centre Fund for EUR 68 mln. The vendor was Paris-listed shopping centre company Klépierre.

The 11,450 m² Boissénart shopping centre is located in Cesson - Savigny le Temple in the Paris Region and is the fund's first ever purchase in France. The centre, which attracts over 5.5 million visitors a year is anchored by a Auchan Hypermarket and comprises 52 units let to national and international brands (87%) as well as smaller independent retailers (13%).

The acquisition was completed in late 2011.

European Shopping Centre Fund was launched in December 2010 and is a closed-end, seven-year, private real estate fund that invests in dominant core shopping centres across Continental Europe. The fund seeks to provide investors with core plus returns in the range of 11% - 13% after payment of all fund level fees and expenses, with an average loan-to-value ratio of 30%.

The fund has already received equity commitments in excess of EUR 220 mln and has more than EUR 260 mln of assets under management.

Florencio Beccar, ESCF’s manager said, 'We can now look back to a successful first year in operation for ESCF. We have received strong investor support, sourced solid investment opportunities delivering positive returns and achieved exposure to target markets of Sweden, Belgium and France.'

'For 2012, we will continue implementing our investment strategy, which is to focus on shopping centres with a strong track record in the core markets of Continental Europe: Sweden, France, Benelux and Germany. This strategy is well tuned to the current environment; it is defensive, focuses on the cash generation track record of assets and provides a diversified income stream. We will face a challenging environment this year but we are confident it will provide good opportunities for our asset class.'