Imo Pan to invest EUR 88m in Algarve mall project

Imo Pan Iberian Retail, a property investment fund managed by Portuguese real estate firm Imorendimento, intends to invest EUR 88mln in the development of a new retail scheme in the heart of the tourist region of the Algarve in Portugal.

The fund announced on Friday that it has completed the acquisition of a site in Guia, Albufeira from local company Urbanipera for the Algarve Gran Plaza project. The shopping centre will provide 88 stores over 55,000 m² of gross lettable area. There will also be parking for more than 2,000 vehicles. The investment volume of EUR 88mln includes the cost of the site. The fund said the popularity of Guia with tourists made the area a 'very important retail location. Other developers and retailers have opened shopping centres in the area in recent years.

Imorendimento will also be responsible for asset, marketing and shopping management of Algarve Gran Plaza.

Imo Pan Iberian Retail is a closed-ended fund with a ten-year and with a total target size of EUR 570mln. The fund's objective is to provide institutional investors with indirect exposure to real estate and property rights in retail and logistics properties located in Portugal and Spain, with the majority of these properties being recently completed or in the process of development. In connection to the fund's first closing, Aberdeen Property Investors Indirect Investment Management (API IIM) acted on behalf of some of its clients.

The Iberian fund said it will take on new investors until fully subscribed. The target size is about EUR 200mln of equity.