Deals

Four-way Meyer Bergman JV buys €587m retail outlet

The four-handed JV has backed the retail outlet market by acquiring four centers located near major cities in Germany, Poland, Spain and Portugal in an off-market transaction. The four assets have a combined annual footfall of almost 13 million. 

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A joint venture comprising Meyer Bergman, the London-based real estate investment manager, FTSE-listed REIT Hammerson, Dutch pension fund manager APG and retail outlet operator Value Retail, has acquired four retail outlet centers located across Europe for a combined sum of €587 million. 

The assets, located close to major cities in Germany, Poland, Spain and Portugal, have been acquired by VIA Outlets, a partnership formed between the three organizations, as part of its European growth strategy in the outlets market.

In securing the four assets, which have a blended net initial yield of 5.5 percent and a forecasted IRR of 11 percent, the total size of the VIA Outlets portfolio has now swelled to €1.1 billion across 10 assets.

“This is a rare opportunity to acquire strong outlet centres in an off-market transaction. Well-positioned European outlets continue to deliver strong sales growth supported by an improving customer offer and increasing tourist numbers across Europe,” said Timon Drakesmith, chief finance officer at Hammerson and chairman of VIA Outlets advisory committee.

The largest outlet in the deal was a center located in Zweibrücken, Germany, which comprises 292,000 square feet of retail space. It is located on the border between France, Germany and Luxembourg and was understood to be Germany’s first established retail outlet. It has 114 retail units in total with current key tenants including Versace, Michael Kors, Polo Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger and has an annual footfall of 3.8 million.

Located close to Porto, Portugal is the outlet in Vila Do Conde. The outlet covers 283,000 square feet with 129 tenants including Polo Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors and Carolina Herrera and receives annual footfall of 4.3 million. The Spanish-based outlet, meanwhile, is located north-east of Seville and comprises 167,000 square feet with 65 retail units including major tenants such as Tommy Hilfiger, Mango, Polo Ralph Lauren and Adidas. The outlet has annual footfall is 2 million.

The fourth assets in the transaction is located in Wroclaw, Poland, and is the only retail outlet in western Poland region and includes 159,000 square feet of retail space and 87 units. Key tenants include Tommy Hilfiger, Adidas, Guess and Calzedonia and the annual footfall is 2.8 million.