Eurocommercial acquires Swedish retail assets

Amsterdam-listed property company Eurocommercial has acquired Eurostop, Halmstad in southern Sweden. Property adviser Cushman & Wakefield, which acted fro the buyer, said the investment volume of SEK 560 mln (EUR 67 mln) reflects a net initial yield of around 6%.

The acquisition comprises two separate purchases - a 10,800-m² Coop hypermarket from Atrium Ljungberg and the 13,600-m² adjoining gallery consisting of 31 retail tenants including Willy's, H&M, Lindex, KappAhl and Systembolaget from Unibail Rodamco. Also included in the purchase of the gallery is a 4,160m² hotel and ancillary offices and storage.

Cushman & Wakefield said the properties have previously been available individually, BUT this is the first time that it has been possible to acquire them together and thereby unify the ownership and control of the large 126,000-m² site on which they sit.

Eurocommercial intends to carry out a refurbishment and significant extension of up to 20,000m², subject to planning permission.

Eurostop - the only external shopping centre in Halmstad - is located in a retail zone alongside a major retail park whose tenants include City Gross and Biltema. Halmstad is positioned on the west coast of Sweden approximately half way between Malmö and Gothenburg. The property is situated on the E6/E20 motorway on the main approach to Halmstad and serves a catchment of almost 200,000 people. The combined acquisition price is SEK 560 mln, representing a net initial yield of around 6%.

Eurocommercial was founded in 1991 as the Schroders International Property Fund and was subsequently renamed when it became independent. The company has EUR 2.7 bn of retail property assets. 39% of these assets are in Italy, 35% in France and 26% in Sweden.