South African-backed New Europe Property Investments (NEPI) has acquired Arena Centar, a 62,100 m2 shopping centre in the Croatian capital Zagreb for €237 mln.
The share transaction also includes an adjacent 4.4-hectare plot of land, which will be used to extend the shopping centre and according to NEPI, 'can also support a variety of standalone developments, due to the highly favourable zoning parameters'.
The vendor was Lobularia Ventures.
Arena Centar opened in November 2010. It is the largest shopping centre in Zagreb and is located next to the national arena, the largest indoor sports and concert hall in the country.
The centre is situated on the main highway linking the city with the Adriatic coast. The area has developed significantly in recent years with the opening of several new retail units and new residential developments, and is well connected with the city centre and the rest of the city.
Zagreb has 790,000 inhabitants, out of Croatia's total population of 4.2 million. Arena Centar's catchment area comprises almost all of the metropolitan area of Zagreb, with a population of 1.4 million in a 45-minute driving radius.
The centre is 94.5% let, and the roster of international fashion brands includes Adidas, Armani Exchange, Bata, Benetton, Bershka, C&A, Champion, Cropp, Converse, Deichmann and Desigual.
Largest shopping centre
There are six modern shopping centres in Zagreb, with total GLA of over 315,000 m2, and several older shopping centres and retail galleries, with a total GLA of 100,000 m2. Arena Centar is the dominant modern shopping centre in the city, due to its size, location and strong tenant mix, NEPI said.
NEPI is a commercial property investor and developer listed on the main board of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the regulated market of Bucharest Stock Exchange and the junior Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange.
Back in 2008, NEPI led the first wave of South African investment companies buying real estate in Central and Eastern Europe. Its most recent deals include the acquisition of Aupark Piestany in Slovakia from HB Reavis' Central Europe Real Estate Fund (CEREIF) for €39.5 mln last month and in June, NEPI purchased Shopping City Sibiu for €100 mln, the largest real estate investment transaction in Romania so far in 2016.
