The 'Bikini Building' in Berlin is a prime example of an innovative redevelopment that provides a lively and unexpected mix of shopping and culture in contrast to the uniform brand offering across many of Europe's modern shopping centres, a PropertyEU briefing at the Provada real estate fair in Amsterdam heard on Thursday.
'What is new is that the Bikini House features quite a number of pop-up stores and every four to six weeks there is a complete change and new pop-ups open there,' said Martin Eberhardt, country manager Germany at Bouwfonds Investment Management. 'That's what I want. Some 20-30 years ago if you went shopping in Italy or France you would come across different goods and different brands. Today, it's the same in every major scheme in Europe more or less. That's the difference; the Bikini is a concept that I, and a lot of other people, like.'
Eberhardt made his comments when asked for his pick of a potential retail deal of the decade during the Future of Retail investment briefing held at the International Business Lounge at Provada on Thursday.
German developer Bayerische Hausbau acquired the former industrial and commercial building, dating from the 1950s, near the zoo in the Charlottenburg district of west Berlin in the early 2000s. Bayerische Hausbau transformed the property, where clothing including bikinis were once produced, into one of the hippest destinations in the German capital, offering a combination of shopping, food and beverage, creative work spaces, cinema, leisure space and hotel.
Other examples of standout retail investment transactions, according to Herman Kok, international research director at Multi Corporation, include UK shopping REIT Hammerson moving into the outlet centre market via its VIA Outlet joint venture and Hammerson's entry into Ireland, alongside Allianz Real Estate, in 2015 through the acquisition of the €1.85 bn Irish Project Jewel loan portfolio.
Separate account business has grown
Marije Braam-Mesken, head of EMEA retail strategy & research at CBRE Global Investors cited the growth of CBRE GI's separate account business with new clients from Asia and other parts of the world, in the retail sector. 'We did one deal recently in a regional city in Poland and we had to help them understand what the city was about, the shopping centre and its great fundamentals even though it was in a place that they probably never visited before.'
PropertyEU reported in April this year that CBRE Global Investors had acquired the Jantar shopping centre in the northern Polish city of Slupsk on behalf of a separate account client. The investment volume of €92 mln reflected a net initial yield of 7.1%. The asset was sold by Tristan Capital Partners.
Bart Stek, senior consultant in the Dutch business of Colliers International, chose a shopping centre deal closer to home. His pick of a potential deal of the decade was Dutch investor-developer Kroonenberg Groep buying Kalvertoren, a struggling shopping centre on Amsterdam's premier shopping high street Kalverstraat, from Deutsche Asset Management for €119 mln in November 2014. 'Kroonenberg is renovating the centre and is getting in a new anchor tenant. It looks like there will be upward movement in rents and value,' Stek said.
Canadian retail giant Hudson's Bay Company recently announced plans to open 20 stores in the Netherlands over the next two years. The retailer's first Saks off 5th store will be located in Kalvertoren.
Find out more about PropertyEU's Deal of the Decade Award programme here
