Nuveen Real Estate is preparing to launch a sale of one of Germany’s largest shopping centres, PropertyEU has learned.
Nuveen has earmarked the Pep shopping centre in Munich’s Neuperlach district for disposal after an extensive two-year rolling refurbishment, overseen by centre manager ECE. CBRE has been appointed selling agent.
The refurbishment was completed in 2018 at a cost of €85 mln and a source at Mipim said that the centre is an example of a large successful mall that is now trading back at 2019 pre-pandemic levels. Pep’s value is thought to be in the region of €500 mln and Nuveen bought the scheme in 2011 on behalf of an investor client, believed to be CMP of France.
Liquidity for big European shopping centres began to pick up again during 2021 with a number of large institutional European investors buying again in the last six months.
They include URW selling stakes some of its French malls to French insurance companies Societe Generale Assurances and BNP Paribas Cardif and Stockholm’s Solna Centre to Alecta, while in the UK there were sales of Silverburn in Glasgow, Touchwood in Solihull and a stake in Bluewater in north Kent, near London.
Nuveen has already agreed a deal to sell two UK outlet centres, Cheshire Oaks and one in Swindon, to LaSalle Investment Managers for around £600 mln.
Pep has about 135 shops trading from 58,000 m2 of space, with tenants including Primark, Kaufland, Saturn, Peek & Cloppenburg, C&A, H&M, s.Oliver, Hugendubel, Douglas, Primark and Müller Market. It is Munich’s largest mall.
The refurbishment was one of many ongoing projects in Neuperlach, a former industrial district, aimed at creating a new mix of urban uses.
This week, Spanish developer Bogaris sold its 60,000 m2 Torrecárdenas shopping centre and retail park in Almería for €172 mln, to South African investor Lighthouse Properties. Lighthouse also bought a portfolio of French shopping centres from Wereldhave last July.
Retail landlords will be hoping that rising inflation will not knock the nascent recovery in discretionary spending off track.
