US financial services group TIAA-CREF has completed the acquisition of a 50% stake in Neinver's outlet centre development in Barcelona.

US financial services group TIAA-CREF has completed the acquisition of a 50% stake in Neinver's outlet centre development in Barcelona.

TIAA-CREF purchased the interest in Viladecans The Style Outlets as part of a wider strategic joint venture formed with Spanish retail property specialist Neinver in January this year.

Phase 1 of Viladecans The Style Outlets is scheduled for completion in 2016. It will provide 100 retail units over a gross lettable area of 19,800 m2. The outlet centre is located close to El Prat airport and is 15 minutes drive from downtown Barcelona. The scheme has a catchment area of 6.4 million residents.

The 50:50 joint venture's first acquisition was The Style Outlets in the French city of Roppenheim. More recently, the Polish assets, Annopol in Warsaw and Factory Krakow and Future Park in Krakow, were added to the portfolio.

The European joint venture is initially focused on Neinver's portfolio of existing outlet centres and its development pipeline. TH Real Estate, which is owned by TIAA-CREF, is the investment manager for the joint venture, while Neinver is providing specialist asset management and operational services for the assets.

David Turner, head of TIAA European Investment, commented: 'European outlet malls, as an asset class, has regularly outperformed other retail sub-sectors and continues to form a key component of our growth strategy in Europe. Our partnership with Neinver continues to provide access to a strong portfolio of outlet malls, diversified across key European markets.'

Jamie Acheson, investment manager of European Outlet Malls at TH Real Estate, added: 'Spain has undergone considerable economic reforms that have put it in a good position to continue outperforming the Eurozone in terms of growth over the medium term. Madrid and Barcelona are leading the national recovery, and this has been reflected in soaring liquidity levels in the retail investment market. Combined with a tight planning regime for retail space and highly favourable catchment income demographics, we believe this scheme will deliver attractive returns.'

The Barcelona acquisition enhances TH Real Estate’s Iberian management portfolio. Outside of the JV agreement with Neinver, TH Real Estate manages a €1 bn portfolio of nine shopping centres across the region on behalf of other third-party clients.