Ivanhoé Cambridge, Grupo Lar confirm sale of Islazul mall for €232m

Canadian Group Ivanhoé Cambridge and Spanish property firm Grupo Lar have confirmed the sale of the Islazul shopping centre in Madrid for €232 mln.

The name of the buyer was kept confidential. However, it is understood that European asset manager TIAA Henderson RE is behind the off-market acquisition of the giant Madrid mall.

The complex, developed by Spanish company Lar and Ivanhoé Cambridge, the real estate arm of Quebec pension fund Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec, was put up for sale in early 2014 for an asking price of €220 mln.

PropertyEU reported in August that TH Real Estate was in the lead to acquire the 90,000 m2 mall, emerging ahead of other bidders including a joint venture of Hines and HSBC.

Located in the Carabanchel neighbourhood in Madrid, Islazul opened in 2008 and currently generates annual rents of between €12 mln and €15 mln.

Meka Brunel, executive vice-president for Europe at Ivanhoé Cambridge, said: 'This transaction is one step further in the execution of our business plan which calls, among others, for the repositioning of our European portfolio. The freed-up capital will be recycled into strategic assets and products in Europe.'

'This transaction is aligned with our business strategy and allows us to re-invest in exciting real estate opportunities in Spain,' added Luis Pereda, president of Grupo Lar.

Ivanhoé Cambridge and Grupo Lar were advised on the transaction by C&W and EY.