CBRE, Texas Teachers buy German mall

The Los Angeles-based real estate investment firm has formed a joint venture with the $110 billion pension plan to buy a shopping center in Laatzen for €117 million.


CBRE Global Investors and the Teacher Retirement System (TRS) of Texas have teamed up to acquire a German mall. 

According to a statement, the Los Angeles-based real estate investment firm and the $110 billion state pension system partnered to acquire Leine Center, a shopping center in Laatzen, Germany, for €117 million. The pair purchased the asset from a consortium of owners consisting of LaSalle Investment Management, ADLER Immobilien Investment Gruppe, Fay Projects and THI Holding.

Sources familiar with the matter confirmed with PERE that CBRE purchased its stake in the property on behalf of the European Shopping Center Fund (ESCF), a closed-end vehicle launched in December 2010 that invests in core shopping centers across Continental Europe. The Leine Center is the fourth acquisition made on behalf of the ESCF and the first in Germany on behalf of the vehicle.

Florencio Beccar, the fund manager at CBRE Global Investors in charge of the ESCF, said in a statement: “Germany is among the most stable and strongest economies in Europe. This acquisition provides exposure to a country where we anticipate that economic growth will continue to be above trend.” 

The shopping center is located in Laatzen, a suburb of Hannover, Germany. The property originally was opened in 1973 and recently extended in 2011. It currently comprises 303,120 square feet and is fully leased to such retailers as H&M, Deichmann, Expert, Adler and Douglas.