Austrian investor Erste Asset Management has purchased 40 Spar supermarkets in Hungary from TREI Real Estate, the property arm of the German Tengelmann Group, for an undisclosed sum.
'The Erste Real Estate HUF Fund and the Erste Real Estate EUR Fund further increased their already significant retail portfolio with this transaction, which already included a significant size of retail properties leased to Spar Hungary,' commented Balázs Pázmány, chairman of the board of Erste Asset Management.
The divestment of the 40 properties allows TREI Real Estate to exit Hungary and, according to the company, focus on new developments, mostly in Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic and the USA.
'This is an important step in achieving our strategic goals. Besides consolidating in a smaller number of countries, focus has shifted more towards development of residential properties as well as retail parks,' said says Pepijn Morshuis, CEO of TREI. 'With the sale of our portfolios in Austria and Hungary as well as the sale of the entire logistics portfolio in the last 2.5 years, the company’s focus now once again is on growth.'
With the exception of two assets, all the elements of the portfolio are leased to Spar Hungary on long term. The total size of the deal was in excess of 39,500 m2, geographically spread around the entire country, including 13 locations in the capital, Budapest.
In the past the properties were leased to the retail chain Plus, the retail brand solely owned by the Tengelmann Group until its sale in 2008 to Spar Hungary.
Erste Asset Management currently manages funds worth close to HUF 1,500 bn (€4.9 bn), including HUF 450 bn (€1.46 bn) of real estate.
Colliers International advised TREI Real Estate.
The Hungarian office of CMS Cameron McKenna provided legal advice to TREI Real Estate on the transaction.
