Union Investment buys Polish mall from CBRE GI

Union Investment has acquired the Sarni Stok shopping centre in Poland's Silesia region from CBRE Global Investors for an undisclosed sum.

The property represents the second foreign investment by Union's UII Shopping Nr. 1 retail property fund.

Opened in 2001, the mall comprises 73 retail units spread over an area of around 31,245 m2. The centre underwent an extension and refurbishment in 2012.

CBRE GI's Property Fund Central Europe has owned the property since 2006.

'Sarni Stok is an established shopping centre with a diverse tenant mix located in a metropolitan area with above-average purchasing power, making it an excellent fit for our thematic fund,' commented Christoph Schumacher, a member of the management team at Union Investment Institutional Property.

Law firm Hogan Lovells and JLL advised Union Investment on the deal and Clifford Chance supported CBRE Property Fund Central Europe with its legal services.

The acquisition comes a day after Union announced the purchase of the Das ES! shopping centre in the southwestern German town of Esslingen from Rockspring for an undisclosed sum.

The 23,100 m2 centre houses 23 retail outlets let to a mix of German and international brands, including Saturn, H&M, C&A and Alnatura, attracting 6.5 million visitors a year.

Sales transactions
Separately, Union Investment announced a number of sales in Germany, France and Hungary.

In its home market, Union Investment sold the Laim 290 office building in Munich, part of its Unilmmo: Deutschland fund, to LaSalle Investment Management Kapitalverwaltungsgesellschaft (LaSalle). The anchor tenant in the building, which was completed in 2008, is Bilfinger SE, occupying some 50% of the total 10,380 m2 of rental space.

'The sale of Laim 290 reflects our strategy of disposing of smaller properties held by Unilmmo: Deutschland,' said Philip La Pierre, head of Investment Management Europe at Union Investment Real Estate.

In Hungary, a 51/49 joint venture of CA Immo and Union Investment sold the Europolis logistics park in Budapest to Prologis for an undisclosed amount. The facility offers 69,100 m2 of lettable area.

In France, Union's Unilmmo Global fund sold Le Capella office building in Clichy to SCPI Epargne Foncière, managed by La Française. Delivered in 2011, the 6,308 m2 office building is fully let to a number of tenants.