Union Investment Real Estate is expanding its retail portfolio in France with the acquisition of an 80% stake in the OPCI vehicle holding the EUR 80 mln Géant shopping centre in Bordeaux. The Hamburg-based investor is investing around EUR 63 mln in the purchase of the asset, which was developed by the French retail-focused SIIC, Mercialys.
Union Investment Real Estate is expanding its retail portfolio in France with the acquisition of an 80% stake in the OPCI vehicle holding the EUR 80 mln Géant shopping centre in Bordeaux. The Hamburg-based investor is investing around EUR 63 mln in the purchase of the asset, which was developed by the French retail-focused SIIC, Mercialys.
Union said in a statement that the operation marks the start of a new strategic partnership in France with Mercialys, which is retaining a 20% stake and will continue to manage the shopping centre. Union will be responsible for the management of the OPCI vehicle.
Opened in 1986 and refurbished in 1992, the Géant complex is being extended and refurbished as part of the transaction, with completion scheduled for November 2012. Containing some 60 shops and offering 17,641 m2 of rental space, the shopping centre currently has an occupancy level of around 95%. Roughly 60% of the 6,500 m2 extension, which comprises 29 stores, is already pre-let. The Géant hypermarket does not form part of the transaction.
The Géant development is Union Investment’s second shopping centre acquisition in France following its entry into the market in 2010 with the purchase of the Saint Martial scheme in Limoges.
