TK Development sells share in two Czech properties

Danish real estate company TK Development has sold its share of two shopping centres in the Czech Republic to UK fund manager Pradera for a total of EUR 104mln.Through Euro Mall Holdings, TK Development owns 20% of joint venture Euro Mall Ventures which entered into an agreement with Pradera to sell Futurum Shopping Centre in Ostrava and Haná Shopping Centre in Olomouc.

Futurum Ostrava Shopping Centre is situated in Ostrava, which, with almost 350,000 inhabitants, is the Czech Republic's third-largest town. The mall opened in May 2000 and is fully let. Futurum Ostrava covers a total floor space of 26,600 m² and comprises 90 retail stores as well as restaurants and a cinema.

Haná Shopping Centre, which opened on 19 September 2002, is situated in Olomouc, the fifth-largest town in the Czech Republic with more than 100,000 inhabitants. The shopping centre is fully let and consists of 60 stores with a total floor space of 10,100 m².

Pradera Asset Management was founded in 1999 and currently has EUR 2.6bn of assets under management. The company manages a portfolio of 32 retail properties totalling more than 650,000 m² and accommodating more
than 1,500 tenants. Both of the newly acquired shopping centres will form part of the Pradera PCEF Fund which is focused on acquiring shopping centres and retail warehouse parks in Central and Eastern Europe, currently with a value in excess of EUR 300mln.

GE Real Estate, Heitman Central Europe Property Partners II and TK Development still own the Futurum Shopping Centre in Hradec Králové, the Czech Republic, and plan to start expanding the centre in the course of the next year, TK Development said.

TK Development holds a 90% stake in Euro Mall Holdings, with Investment Fund for Central and Eastern Europe holding the other 10%. Euro Mall operates in the retail and mixed-use segments in Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The company also has office and residential holdings in Poland.

TK Development used the announcement of the shopping centre sales to confirm its forecast of a profit of about DKK 300mln (about EUR 40mln) after tax for the 2008/09 financial year.