Europa Capital Buys Gran Vía de Alicante For €52M

2 October 2017 – Expansión

Spanish shopping centres continue to be objects of desire for international investors and, specifically, for private equity funds. One of the latest to back this segment is the British fund Europa Capital, which has just closed an agreement with the real estate subsidiary of Deutsche Bank, Rreef, to acquire Gran Vía de Alicante, one of the largest shopping centres in the area.

Market sources have explained to Expansión that the operation has been closed for €52 million. The real estate consultancy JLL has advised the vendor in the process, whilst LyC and Savills have advised Europa Capital.

According to the same sources, the sales process, which opened in March, sparked interest amongst numerous investors, including Eurofund Capital Partners and Patron Capital, as well as Carmila, the subsidiary of Carrefour.

This shopping centre first opened its doors in 1998 and was renovated in 2012. The asset has a gross leasable area of 37,314 m2, spread over three floors, and includes a hypermarket occupied by Carrefour, which does not form part of the perimeter of this operation. The asset also includes a car park with 1,600 parking spaces.

Specifically, more than 70% of the asset’s surface area is leased to fashion brands such as Primark, Lefties, Pull&Bear, H&M, Bershka, Massimo Dutti and Deichmann. Moreover, the shopping centre’s other tenants include restaurant brands such as Foster’s Hollywood and Lizarrán.

Visitors

Last year, the shopping centre received 5.3 million visitors, up by 2.7% compared to the previous year. Gran Vía Alicante has increased the number of visitors almost continuously since Primark opened a store in the centre five years ago. That also resulted in a rise in sales, which exceeded €32 million last year, representing a YoY increase of 5.3%.

The asset, located at number two Calle José García Sellés, competes with Plaza Mar 2 – the largest shopping centre in the municipality – with a gross leasable area of 43,684 m2.

Other shopping centres located close to Gran Vía Alicante include Parque Vistahermosa, measuring 34,000 m2; San Vicente Outlet Park, measuring 36,500 m2; and Puerta de Alicante, measuring 34,500 m2.

Other operations

The purchase of Gran Vía Alicante by Europa Capital follows other operations closed recently in the region.

In this way, last year, TPG purchased the L’Aljub de Elche centre for €100 million for TH Real Estate. Meanwhile, Lar España acquired the Portal de la Marina shopping centre in Ondara (Alicante) for €14.5 million, and the Socimi in which Pimco holds a stake bought the Vistahermosa retail complex, which is located very close to the centre in Alicante, for €42.5 million.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Deutsche Bank Negotiates Sale Of Gran Vía Alicante

30 April 2017 – Expansión

The real estate market for shopping centres is unrelenting. In the latest deal, Deutsche Bank has hung the “for sale” sign up over Gran Vía Alicante. The German entity’s real estate division, RREEF, which has engaged the real estate consultancy firm JLL to sell this shopping centre, has already received several offers for the asset.

Whilst the operation has not been closed yet, one of the players lining itself up as a candidate to take over the shopping centre is the British fund Europa Capital.

Moreover, one of the other investors interested in the asset is a consortium formed by Eurofund Capital Partners and Patron Capital and Carmila, the real estate subsidiary owned by Carrefour, according to market sources, which value the asset at just over €50 million.

The centre has a retail surface area of 37,300 m2, however, that figure includes a hypermarket owned by Carrefour, measuring 17,050 m2, which falls outside of the perimeter of this transaction.

Specifically, the retail space for sale, which has a gross leasable area of more than 20,200 m2, contains around 80 stores distributed over three floors, as well as an underground car park with 1,600 spaces.

Tenants

The shopping centre, inaugurated in November 1998 and renovated in 2012, received almost 5.3 million visitors last year and has an occupancy rate of 95% of its gross leasable area.

The shopping centre’s main tenants include brands such as Primark, H&M, Lefties, Massimo Dutti, Pull & Bear, Juguettos, Calzedonia, Natura and Fosters Hollywood, amongst others.

Gran Vía de Alicante, located on Calle José García Sellés, competes with Plaza Mar 2, the largest shopping centre in the town, spanning 43,600 m2.

In addition, other nearby shopping centres include Parque Vistahermosa, measuring 34,000 m2, San Vicente Outlet Park, measuring 36,500 m2 and Puerta de Alicante, measuring 34,500 m2.

Investment

Shopping centres are one of the real estate assets that have sparked the most interest amongst investors in recent years.

In 2016 alone, more than €3,700 million was invested in this segment, which constituted the second largest market in the real estate sector after the office segment.

The main operations closed last year included the sale of Diagonal Mar (Barcelona), which was acquired by Deutsche Bank from Northwood in August for €495 million, and the sale of Gran Vía de Vigo, which the Socimi Lar España acquired from Oaktree for €145 million.

So far in 2017, another mega-operation has been closed with the British fund Intu’s acquiring the Xanadú shopping centre (Arroyomolinos, Madrid) for €530 million from Ivanhoé Cambridge.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake