US investment firm HIG Capital has completed the sale of Parque Ceuta Shopping Center to a consortium of private investors for an undisclosed amount.
US investment firm HIG Capital has completed the sale of Parque Ceuta Shopping Center to a consortium of private investors for an undisclosed amount.
The scheme, comprising 14,500 m2 and mainly let to Eroski, Inditex, C&A and Cortefiel, was inaugurated in 2002 and acquired by HIG Capital in January 2014.
Ahmed Hamdani, managing director at HIG in London, commented: 'This is the second successful exit from our real estate portfolio in the last nine months. HIG has completed 18 acquisitions in the small and mid-cap European Real Estate value add segment during the past three years and we continue to see interesting opportunities in Spain and across the continent.'
Miami-headquartered HIG Capital has built up a European real estate portfolio of over €1 bn over the past 24 months and is working towards setting up its first European fund later this year.
According to market sources, HIG is aiming to raise $500 mln (€480 mln) for a pan-European value-add real estate vehicle, which will invest both in real estate and real estate-secured debt.
With leverage of around 60%, the vehicle is expected to have a firepower of around €1.2 bn and will seek to offer returns in the high teens. It would be the first dedicated European real estate investment vehicle launched by the $17 bn US private equity asset manager since entering the real estate sector three years ago.
The strategy is identical to the one used in the US where the group has been managing several funds over the last 10 years.