Sonae Sierra & JT Purchase 3 Shopping Centres in Spain for €485M

19 December 2018 – Eje Prime

Sonae Sierra and the Slovak fund JT have closed the purchase of three Spanish shopping centres that had been put on the market by the Portuguese group itself and CBRE GI. The two companies have created a joint venture to acquire Gran Casa (Zaragoza), Max Center (Vizcaya) and Valle Real (Cantabria) for €485 million, as Eje Prime revealed in August.

Boosted by the property developer Peter Korbačka, JT Real Estate is going to control 87% of the joint venture, and Sonae will be the owner of the remaining 12%, as well as the manager of the three centres. To date, the assets had been owned 50/50 by the Portuguese group and CBRE GI.

The three commercial complexes are currently immersed in projects to renovate and improve their commercial mixes “to provide experiences to our visitors and generate value for our stakeholders” explained sources at Sonae Sierra.

The operation that has been signed is in line with the Portuguese group’s current strategy of “reaching agreements with large international investors who are looking for an operating partner with the aim of increasing the value of the assets acquired and generating value for investors”, say sources at the company.

Pedro Caupers, Investment Director at Sonae Sierra, believes that this agreement with JT “will be the start of a long-term relationship that may extend to include new projects, both in Spain and in other European countries”. Meanwhile, Peter Korbačka has said that “Spain is one of the most robust markets within the real estate sector in Europe”.

With its headquarters in Bratislava, JT Real Estate is one of the main real estate groups in Slovakia. The company, which started life in 1996, currently employs around 300 people and operates in various segments. This will be its first transaction in the Spanish market.

Meanwhile, Sonae Sierra administers and controls 46 shopping centres in Europe and Latin America, with a gross leasable area (GLA) of 1.9 million m2 and a market value of €7 billion. The company operates in twelve countries around the world and, in 2017, 438 million people visited its complexes.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake