Inter Ikea is poised to acquire one of the largest existing shopping centres in Poland in a move away from the firm's earlier strategy of developing and owning centres anchored by its parent company.
Inter Ikea is poised to acquire one of the largest existing shopping centres in Poland in a move away from the firm's earlier strategy of developing and owning centres anchored by its parent company.
Inter Ikea Centre Group Poland (IICG Poland) has confirmed that it has signed a preliminary share purchase agreement to acquire the Wola Park Shopping Centre in Warsaw. The acquisition of Wola Park could be finalised by the end of this year subject to regulatory approval.
Property adviser Colliers International, law firm Dentons and PWC acted on the transaction.
Wola Park comprises almost 200 shops on two levels covering a leasable area of some 58,000 m2. An 18,000 m2 Auchan supermarket is not included in the transaction.
Ikea, the Swedish furniture retailer, does not have a store at the shopping centre and there are no plans to add one. The acquisition of Wola Park is part of the firm's strategy to diversify its holdings in Poland.
‘IICG’s interest in Wola Park centres around the attractive multi-brand tenant mix and its excellent location, which will be improved even further after completion of the ongoing and the planned infrastructure works in the vicinity. Wola Park would be an important addition to our portfolio because it would add to the quality and diversity of our business,’ Mikael Andersson, managing director of IICG Poland, said.
The investment volume was not disclosed but one source estimated that it would have run to several hundreds of millions. The vendor was a fund managed by AEW Europe.
AEW Europe's PBW II Real Estate Fund acquired the Wola Park, then 40,000m2, from Canada's Ivanhoe Cambridge in 2007 for more than €140 mln.
The largest fully-let shopping centre in Poland was sold last year to German fund manager Union Investment. The Hamburg-based company paid €390 mln for the Manufaktura shopping centre in Lodz which comprises 112,500 m2 of rental space.
IICG Poland develops and manages retail destinations, anchored by Ikea stores. Apart from IKEA in the commercial centres owned by IICG Poland one can find numerous shops offering a varied assortment. IICG Poland owns seven shopping parks and centres: in Gdansk, Lodz, Poznan, Wroclaw, Katowice and two in Warsaw. The company is also working on the extension of Park Handlowy Bielany in Wroclaw, Park Handlowy Franowo in Poznan and the construction of a commercial centre in Lublin.
