FastPartner snaps up 5 Stockholm malls from RBS' Centeni

Swedish property firm FastPartner has acquired a portfolio of five shopping centres in Stockholm from the Royal Bank of Scotland's Centeni, the former joint venture company established by UK private investment firm Boutlbee and collapsed investment bank Lehman Brothers. Financial details were not disclosed.

The 70,000-m² portfolio includes Älvsjö centrum, Tensta centrum, Rinkeby centrum, Bredäng centrum and Hässelby gård centrum.

'This is a business that fits well with our mission and we believe we can develop these neighbourhood centres in close dialogue with the tenants and the City. What we buy, we buy in order to hold in the long run,' said Sven-Olof Johansson, CEO of FastPartner.

'FastPartner meets Centeni's demands for a serious and long-term owner. They have experience in property development and have the ambition to develop each scheme,' added Centeni's chairman Lars Linder-Aronson.

The assets are part of the CentrumKompaniet portfolio acquired by UK private investment firm Boultbee for about EUR 1 bn from the municipality of Stockholm in 2007. The deal was financed by a consortium of seven banks led by RBS. In May Boultbee decided to sell its 51% stake in Centeni, the former joint venture company established by Boultbee and collapsed investment bank Lehman Brothers to acquire 10 shopping centres in Stockholm, to concentrate on other markets.

The financial structure of the portfolio came under pressure after Lehman Brothers went bankrupt in 2008. RBS first took over Lehman's 49% stake in the joint venture before buying out Boultbee to assume operational control of Centeni before the summer.

Earlier this year Centeni also divested its Högdalen Centrum in Stockholm to listed Finnish retail specialist Citycon for SEK 207.5 mln (EUR 23 mln).