German investment giant, Union Investment and Italian company, Generali Real Estate, have acquired a shopping resort in Spain.
The firms clubbed together in a 50:50 joint venture to buy the asset named Puerto Venecia in Zaragoza, for around €475 mln.
The vendors in the transaction were Intu Properties and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB).
Comprising 120,000 m2, with a shopping centre and retail park, Puerto Venecia features 193 outlets and draws around 19 million visitors a year.
Generali Real Estate bought its portion on behalf of its Generali Shopping Center Fund SCS. Union Investment acquired its share on behalf of its open-ended real estate fund, Unilmmo: Deutschland.
Welcoming the acquisition, Henrike Waldburg, head of investment management retail at Union Investment Real Estate, said: ´Puerto Venecia is a shopping area with a high leisure value and a correspondingly high attraction factor for the people in the Aragonia region.
´It is by far the leading shopping destination in this region and therefore fits perfectly with our investment strategy, which focuses on best performing shopping centres and well-structured retail parks.´
Aldo Mazzocco, CEO of Generali Real Estate, said: ´This is the first investment of our pan-European Shopping Center Fund, launched in May 2019 and supported by our dedicated boutique Axis with a precise strategy of cherry-picking of prime retail in Europe.´
Intu Properties and CPPIB paid €451m for the asset in 2015.
CBRE acted on behalf of Intu.
