Spanish REIT Grupo Lar has acquired a portfolio of 22 Eroski supermarkets and a majority stake in a retail park from pan-European investment manager Rockspring for €110.7 mln.
Announcing the transaction, Rockspring said it had acquired the supermarkets and Parque Comercial Abadia (pictured), outside the central city of Toledo in 2011, when few international investors were active in the Spanish real estate market following the global financial crisis.
The supermarket assets, which comprise both neighbourhood grocery stores and edge-of-town standalone units, are let entirely to retailer Eroski for a further 14-year minimum lease term. Providing 28,822 m2 of GLA in total, they are located mainly in the Basque country and Majorca.
Parque Comercial Abadia, described by Rockspring as one of the top five retail parks in Spain, comprises a total of 54,100 m2 GLA, as well as 2,860 car park spaces. The 70% interest purchased by Grupo Lar is 100% let, with anchor tenants including Decathlon, Media Markt and Alcampo, the second biggest hypermarket chain in Spain.
John Thompson, director of Rockspring Iberia: 'Over the period since we acquired these properties, the Spanish real estate market has benefitted from an improving economic backdrop and increased investment, which combined with successfully implemented asset management initiatives, has driven capital values and in turn, the excellent performance achieved with these investments.'
Retail Partners Europe, Cushman & Wakefield and Hogan Lovells advised Rockspring on the Abadia transaction, while JLL and Eversheds Nicea were advisors on the Eroski portfolio.
