Valad's new Nordic partnership debuts with mall portfolio deal

The portfolio comprises four regional shopping centres, totalling approximately 50,000 m2 of retail space. The assets are located in Örnsköldsvik, Karlskoga, Nyköping and Mjölby. Anchored by a mix of national and local brands and let to more than 90 occupiers overall, the portfolio provides the partnership with a stable and diverse income stream.

Valad Nordic Retail Partnership (VNRP) is a joint venture between Valad and an unidentified private equity investor. The investment volume for the maiden transaction was not disclosed. 

Mikael Arne Fogemann, Valad Europe's head of Nordics, commented: 'We chose this high yielding portfolio to seed the Valad Nordic Retail Partnership because it combines good quality assets, in strong regional locations, with a diverse income profile. We believe there is an excellent opportunity to improve value and income over the holding period of the partnership with targeted asset management activity which will be undertaken by our local teams on the ground in Sweden, Denmark and Finland. We have a strong pipeline of investments in due diligence, as we look to deploy further capital into the Nordic market where we have around €300 mln of capital to invest and where we have completed approximately €150 mln of transactions in the last year.'

Christian Bearman, head of corporate development and private equity at Valad Europe, added that Valad Europe had identified a theme in the Nordic region, and in Sweden in particular. The theme is to invest in regional retail shopping centres anchored by food and convenience stores that dominate their local catchment areas. 'The combination of attractively priced assets and economic forecasts predicting around 2% growth over the next 12 months, linked with CPI-indexed rents, makes this market a compelling investment proposition with the potential to achieve attractive double-digit IRRs for the partnership,' Bearman said. 

Valad Europe has a team of around 20 in the Nordics operating from offices in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmo, Copenhagen and Helsinki. The team manages approximately €355 mln of assets comprising 670 tenants, occupying 555,000 m2 of space across Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway.