Henley Investments, a private equity real estate firm based in the UK, has purchased its first shopping centre as it enters the Polish real estate market with the acquisition of Galeria Pestka from an investment manager believed to be Blackstone. Financial details were not disclosed.
The 42,000 m2 multi-storey shopping centre in Poznan is a hypermarket-anchored scheme and has a diverse tenant line-up headed up by international tenants, such as Carrefour and Bricomarche.
‘As retail real estate continues to evolve, complementing e-commerce and absorbing the impacts of Covid-19, we believe well-located assets such as Galeria Pestka with a great tenant mix will continue to perform well,’ said Justin Meissel, Chief Investment Officer and managing director Europe at Henley Investments. ‘Through Henley’s active asset management approach, Galeria Pestka will remain a leading offering in this evolving sector. We are open to further investment opportunities with a similar profile in the UK and select Western European markets.’
Ian Rickwood, CEO of Henley Investments, added: ‘The purchase of Galeria Pestka marks an expansion by Henley into a new region – with our debut Polish purchase – as well as the firm’s first shopping centre acquisition. This builds on the firm’s existing retail experience, including retail parks, supermarkets and hypermarkets, and leverages our deep asset management expertise.’
Henley are retaining the existing property manager, Multi.
Henley was advised by Mishcon de Reya and Polish lawyers B2RLaw.
