Deutsche AM continues Iberian growth with €493m deal

The Frankfurt-based investment management firm has now completed more than €950m worth of deals on the peninsula in the last 12 months, expanding its Iberian portfolio to 17 assets. 

Deutsche Asset Management (AM) has continued its expansion into Iberian real estate with the €493 million acquisition of the Diagonal Mar shopping center in Barcelona.

The 990,000 square foot retail asset is one of the most prominent shopping centers in the Spanish city and attracts more than 17 million visitors each year. It is located in the 22@ district, also known as the innovation district, the new name for the recently regenerated former industrial area of Poblenou.

The center is home to a number of leading tenants including Alcampo hypermarket, Cinesa, Media Markt, Primark, H&M and the Inditex Group. Since opening in 2001, Diagonal Mar has maintained an average occupancy rate of 98 percent.

The investment management firm did not disclose whether the transaction was made on behalf of a fund but the deal, it said, was conducted through its real estate investment business in Madrid, which is led by Carlos Manzano.

“Deutsche AM intends to invest more than €30 million in several projects to enhance Diagonal Mar by creating a new area dedicated to fashion alongside a general internal and external refurbishment,” a spokesman for the firm said.

Following this transaction, Deutsche AM’s Iberian real estate business has completed deals worth more than €950 million in the last 12 months, increasing its portfolio of assets under management to around €1.3 billion. The firm’s current Iberian portfolio now contains 17 assets including seven shopping centers, seven office buildings and three logistics hubs, with a combined gross lettable area of 4.4 million square feet.

Some of Deutsche AM’s acquisitions over the last year include: the Josep Tarradellas office building in Barcelona; the Echevarria building in Bilbao; three shopping centers in Portugal and a further office building in Manoteras, Madrid.