Wereldhave buys mall near Amsterdam from Unibail-Rodamco

Dutch listed property firm Wereldhave has reached agreement with Unibail-Rodamco on the acquisition of the Vier Meren shopping centre in Hoofddorp near Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

The total purchase price amounts to €147.5 mln, including transaction costs, reflecting a net initial yield of 5.8%.

Wereldhave said the acquisition will be funded largely from proceeds from the disposal of the Joinville office building in Paris, also scheduled to be completed at the end of January 2014.

The Dutch company spent €71 mln to develop the office scheme in Joinville-le-Pont near the French capital. The asset, completed at year-end 2013, has been pre-sold to an unnamed French bank, for €91 mln.

Vier Meren is a regionally dominant shopping centre in the city centre of Hoofddorp, around 20 km southwest of Amsterdam. The 27,000 m2 shopping centre was first opened in 2005 and forms part of a larger 74,000 m2 inner city retail offer, serving a catchment area of 144,000 people. The complex includes 3,700 m2 of office space fully let to the municipality and has a 71% stake in an underground parking garage of 1,037 spaces.

Visitor numbers currently stand at around six million annually. The shopping centre's 60 shops are fully occupied.

Wereldhave said the transaction also includes a V&D department store of 5,900 m2 with an adjoining building, providing future development potential for a 2,500 m2 retail expansion.

'The Vier Meren shopping centre has a proven track record and offers a stable cash flow. It fully matches Wereldhave’s strategic investment criteria and therefore fits well into its strategy of investing in high quality, medium-sized shopping centres in north-west Europe,' the company said in a statement.

The transaction is scheduled for completion at the end of January 2014.

Unibail-Rodamco was advised on the transaction by Cushman & Wakefield and Houthoff Buruma on the legal side. DTZ and law firm Lexence acted for Wereldhave.