URW and ECE dispose of Berlin shopping centre

All the parties agreed to keep the financial details of the transaction confidential. The deal is expected to close before year-end.

Located in Berlin's Friedrichshain district on the Frankfurter Allee arterial road, the 20,000 m2, five-storey property is predominantly let to retail businesses and is anchored by Edeka, H&M, and Douglas. The two adjacent assets, Ring Center 2 and 3, are not included in the transaction and will continue to be managed by ECE.

Marcel Hertig, vice president at Angelo Gordon, said: 'We believe this is an attractive opportunity for Angelo Gordon to expand its footprint in Germany. The asset benefits from its proximity to one of Berlin’s most trendy neighbourhoods, as it is uniquely located on the eastern edge of the S-Bahn and U-Bahn network in one of the most densely populated and rapidly growing submarkets of Berlin, and we have identified a number of value-add drivers that we intend to unlock in partnership with retail specialist Kintyre.'

Kintyre partner Marius Ohlsen commented: 'Sourcing of deal-flow in this market requires creativity of both the operational partner and investor, and we are thrilled to be working with Angelo Gordon on this project. Given Kintyre’s experience with urban regeneration, particularly in Berlin, we are excited by the opportunity to deliver on a repositioning of the property that will enhance it and create an integrated shop and office hub that blends modern workplaces with a leisure and retail destination.'

Angelo Gordon and Kintyre were advised by Christian Thiele of Latham Watkins on legal matters and Gleeds provided technical due diligence, while Leonard Design and CBRE provided asset design and market research, respectively. Ernst Young provided tax advice. The vendor was advised by Dentons on the legal side and PwC on tax matters.