DeAWM acquires cultural centre in Poznan for €290m

Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management (Deutsche AWM) has acquired the 130,000 m2 Stary Browar cultural and retail centre in the Polish city of Poznan for around €290 mln.

CBRE advised DeAWM on the transaction which was carried out on behalf of DeAWM's Grundbesitz Europa German fund and has been billed as the second-largest real estate investment deal in Poland this year.

'The Polish investment market is increasingly attracting capital from across the globe targeting all sectors. Core funds are particularly focused on prime retail located in large cities. However, the key challenge at present in Poland is the lack of prime stock available to purchase,' said Sean Doyle, director of capital markets at CBRE Poland.

'The purchase of the highly coveted Stary Browar, one of the best retail concepts in Europe which has received numerous accolades over the years, demonstrates that there are still opportunities to secure the best assets in Poland. It was a pleasure to work with all parties on this landmark transaction which resulted in one of the most efficient processes we have been involved in,' Doyle added.

JLL’s retail investment team advised the vendor, Fortis Nowy Stary Browar, a company owned by Poland's richest woman and patron of the arts Grazyna Kulczyk. Law firm Dentons advised on the legal side.

Cultural and retail centre
Stary Browar – Centre of Arts and Business – was developed in 2003 from the original 19th century building covering 65,000 m2 which housed Huggers’ Brewery. Fortis Nowy Stary Browar added a new wing comprising another 65,000 m2 in 2007.

The centre accommodates a retail project, art gallery and cultural space. The 220 retail and restaurant points, modern art gallery, exhibition and event halls and a cinema multiplex are all housed in Stary Browar's 130,000 m2 of space.

Agata Sekula, head of retail investment CEE at JLL, commented: 'The transaction confirms the continued activity of international institutional investors in the retail segment. We forecast that the volume of retail investment transactions in Poland this year will hit €1.6 bn – the best result since 2007.'