Corio, the Amsterdam and Paris listed retail property company, has reached agreement on the acquisition of a 49% interest in the Citta Fiera shopping centre in the north-eastern Italian city of Udine for approximately EUR 87 mln. The shopping centre is the largest in the region and comprises 70,800 m[sup]2[/sup] of gross leasable area, with 160 shops, several medium-sized stores, a 11-screen multiplex, two food courts and restaurants. Some 1,400 m[sup]2[/sup] is not part of the transaction. The catchment area has 380,000 inhabitants within 30 minutes driving distance.

Corio, the Amsterdam and Paris listed retail property company, has reached agreement on the acquisition of a 49% interest in the Citta Fiera shopping centre in the north-eastern Italian city of Udine for approximately EUR 87 mln. The shopping centre is the largest in the region and comprises 70,800 m2 of gross leasable area, with 160 shops, several medium-sized stores, a 11-screen multiplex, two food courts and restaurants. Some 1,400 m2 is not part of the transaction. The catchment area has 380,000 inhabitants within 30 minutes driving distance.

Citta Fiera will contribute to Corio's earnings per share with retroactive effect from January 1 2007 and the offers the potential to add value by utilising the potential to extend the centre. The Dutch firm is acquiring 2% of the interest in Citta Fiera from Finanziaria Bardelli and 47% in Citta Fiera from Financiere Concorde, the company that owns the centre and controls about 450,000 m2 surrounding the shopping can be used for future extensions. The acquisition price is made up of EUR 47.5 mln in cash and EUR 38.5 mln in assumption of debt in Citta Fiera’s operating company.

Corio has a portfolio worth EUR 5 bn, 80% of which is invested in retail and consists mainly of shopping centres in its core markets of the Netherlands (48% of the total portfolio), France (24%), Italy (14%), Spain (10%) and Turkey (4%).