CBRE Global Investment Partners (GIP) has acquired a majority stake in three regional shopping centres in Portugal and Spain as part of a new joint venture with retail specialist Sonae Sierra to own and operate malls in the Iberian Peninsula.
The assets, which were sold by the Sierra Fund, are AlgarveShopping and Estação Viana, both in Portugal, and the 41,090 m2 Luz Del Tajo in Spain.
Under the arrangement, GIP has taken a 90% stake in the centres with Sonae Sierra retaining a minority share of 10% and acting as local operating partner and property manager. Financial details were kept confidential. However, the transaction is believed to value the assets at around €275 mln.
PropertyEU reported in September last year that Sonae Sierra had hired C&W to sell the two Portuguese malls.
Located in Guia (Albufeira), AlgarveShopping was inaugurated in 2001 and recently expanded. It currently provides nearly 45,000 m2 with 130 shops. Sonae Sierra had already tried once to market the mall for €130 mln back in 2011.
The smaller Estação Viana Shopping in Viana do Castelo provides over 19,000 m2 of space over 94 shops and 600 parking spaces.
The portfolio is currently 96.7% let.
Jeremy Plummer, CEO, GIP, said: 'This transaction is in line with our global strategy to establish scalable, programmatic ventures with best-in-class, sector specialist, local operating partners in markets which offer strong growth potential. We are confident that Sonae Sierra’s experience and expertise will enable us to unlock further value from these centres and future acquisitions.'
'The creation of this venture confirms our commitment to Portugal and Spain, both a core focus of the development and growth strategy, since our company was founded,' added Fernando Oliveira, CEO, Sonae Sierra.
Retail Partners Europe, Jones Day and PLMJ advised GIP.
