Vastned spends €108m on Amsterdam's premier high-street

Dutch listed retail property investor has acquired the Amsterdam flagship stores of Forever 21 and Pull & Bear on the city's premier shopping street, Kalverstraat, for €108 mln.

Located at Kalverstraat 11-17/ Rokin 12-16 the Forever 21 property comprises 6,000 m2 of retail space. American retailer Forever 21 is the largest tenant with approximately 4,500 m2 on several floors. Pull & Bear, part of the Spanish Inditex fashion conglomerate, leases the adjoining unit with a surface area of 1,500 m2 on three floors. Both are on long-term leases.

Other major international retailers, such as Zara, H&M and Topshop have flagship stores on this part of Kalverstraat. On the other side is Rokin, a street that is gaining in popularity, where British department store Marks & Spencer and upmarket department store Haussmann will shortly open for business.

The attractiveness of Rokin as a shopping destination, with its broad street and imposing buildings, is expected to increase significantly with the opening of an underground station there for the new North-South metro line in 2017.

The transaction increases the share of premium city high street retail in Vastned's portfolio to 64%. The company aims to lift the share ultimately to 75%.

Vastned CEO Taco de Groot: 'This acquisition is a perfect fit with our premium city high street strategy. The property is on one of the most popular shopping streets in Amsterdam, in fact on the busiest part of the Kalverstraat. This is a location where consumers will continue to come to shop, and the acquisition will contribute strongly to the more stable and predictable results we are striving for.'