AXA Investment Managers - Real Assets has paid €676m to buy stakes in two retail assets in Paris on behalf of clients.
The €84bn manager has bought a 75% stake in the 61,800sqm Italie Deux asset, Paris’ second-largest shopping centre, from Hammerson for €473m and paid €203m for a 50% stake in a mixed-use property complex, which includes the Passage du Havre retail centre, from Eurocommercial Properties.
The mixed-use property complex, located in the 9th arrondissement in the heart of Paris’ Haussmann-Saint Lazare commercial district, is composed of three adjacent mixed-use assets occupying a corner block across rue St-Lazare and rue du Havre.
Retail accounts for the majority of space (65%) in the fully-let 23,850sqm mixed-use complex located in the 9th arrondissement, while offices (25%) and residential (10%) are incorporated to the upper floors of the six-storey buildings, the manager said.
Antoine Mesnage, head of acquisitions France at AXA IM - Real Assets, said both the Italie Deux shopping centre and the ‘Passage du Havre’ retail-led mixed-use asset benefit from superb central locations, high footfall, and offer opportunities to create value, including leasing vacant space.
John O’Driscoll, European head of transactions at AXA IM - Real Assets, said: “Over the past couple of years we have seen a build-up of increasingly negative sentiment toward the retail sector where all assets, regardless of their operational performance and other compelling fundamentals, including location, are viewed similarly.
“Assets like Italie Deux and ‘Passage du Havre’, benefit from significant public connectivity, have the highest footfall and, as a result, are where retailers want to concentrate their presence in order to directly connect their brand with their consumers.”
BMO REP acquires Paris restaurant from French actor Depardieu
BMO Real Estate Partners (BMO REP) has diversified the income profile of its pan-European retail property investment fund with the acquisition of the Fontaine Gaillon restaurant in Paris from French actor Gerard Depardieu.
BMO REP said it has also secured a new 10-year commercial lease with restaurant firm Moma Group.
Financial details were undisclosed.
Adrien Brion, director, head of operations in Paris at BMO Real Estate Partners said: “This off-market acquisition further diversifies the income profile of the fund alongside luxury, premium and mass-market high-street retail assets, and will allow us to take advantage of the attractive pricing and strong rental growth prospects available to be captured in Paris’ food and beverage retail segment.”
Patrizia buys German retail park from Cerberus
Patrizia, on behalf of one of its German retail funds, has bought a retail park in the north of Berlin from Cerberus.
The manager said the asset in Oranienburg, comprising 20,400sqm of retail space across 12 units with 1,000 car parking spaces, is the “dominant retail park in its location”.
Financial details were undisclosed.
Daniel Herrmann, head of fund management retail at Patrizia said: “At Patrizia we have adopted a highly selective retail investment strategy focusing on assets, such as this retail park in Oranienburg, which is the major player in the area and generates a stable income stream with strong covenants.
“Due to its suitable tenant mix, Oranienpark is extremely popular within its catchment and attracts a high level of footfall from the local community.”
AEW city retail fund enters Portuguese market
AEW’s city retail fund has marked its entry into the Portuguese market with the acquisition of eight high street retail assets for an undisclosed sum.
The Europe City Retail Fund has bought the fully-let assets located on the main Lisbon shopping streets of Liberdade, Rua Augusta and on the pedestrianised Rua Santa Catarina in Porto.
Nikos Koulouras, co-head of investments for AEW’s private equity funds in Europe, said as AEW’s first investments in Portugal, this marks an important milestone in the firm’s European investment strategy.
“Beyond retail, we are also focusing on acquiring well-located office assets with a value-add strategy as we strongly believe in the ongoing growth in the Portuguese economy and the fundamentals of the Lisbon office market.”
Christina Ofschonka, fund manager for Europe City Retail at AEW, said the addition of these assets further enhances the income profile of the fund and follows the swift deployment of capital on behalf of the fund into a range of prime retail destinations across Europe.
“Following the fund’s entry into the UK and Dutch markets, we are pleased to diversify the portfolio further with the addition of Portugal.”
