Sonae Sierra puts 2 Spanish malls on the market - exclusive

Portuguese retail specialist Sonae Sierra has put the Dos Mares and La Farga shopping centres in Spain on the market, PropertyEU has learnt. The company is understood to have mandated C&W to sell Dos Mares in La Manga, located between the cities of Alicante and Cartagena.

The scheme, which represents a joint venture of Sonae (65%) and Erosmer Ibérica Group (35%), is due to be marketed to investors in the next few weeks. It is expected to fetch in the region of EUR 60 mln.

Opened in 2004, the 24,400-m² property represented an investment of EUR 36.5 mln for the owners. It includes an Eroski hypermarket, a 10-screen Neocine cinemas with 1,400 seats, and large surfaces for Bricolaje Bricoasuar (do-it-yourself) and Cadena Master (home appliances), as well as Bowling Dos Mares.

In the vicinity of Barcelona, CB Richard Ellis is said to be managing the sale of La Farga, a 17,400-m² mall in Hospitalet. Completed in 1996, the scheme has a total of 87 shops and 1,150 parking spaces. The property situated at a secondary location is held by a 50:50 partnership of ING REIM and Sonae Sierra. The deal is part of the partnership's asset-rotation strategy aimed at raising equity for new investments.

ING REIM and Sonae set up a partnership in Spain back in 2002, following the establishment of a similar first joint venture in Portugal. Other centres in the Spanish joint venture are Gran Casa in Zaragoza, Kareaga and its leisure extension Baliak in Barakaldo (Vizcaya), Valle Real in Camargo (Cantabria), and Zubiarte in Bilbao.