Grosvenor sells Shanghai mall for $200m

The London-based property company has exited a Shanghai shopping mall acquired via its $600m Grosvenor Vega China Retail Fund.

London-based property company Grosvenor Group has agreed to sell the Parkside Plaza mall in Shanghai to the Hong Kong-listed Chinese real estate developer Joy City for RMB 1.4 billion ($200 million; €190 million).

According to a Hong Kong Stock Exchange announcement, Grosvenor owned the asset via the Grosvenor Vega China Retail Fund. The value-add China-focused real estate fund closed on $600 million in 2008, according to PERE research.

The shopping mall, located in the Putuo District in Shanghai and spread over a gross floor area of 1.3 million square feet, was acquired by the group’s real estate investment management business Grosvenor Europe in 2010. According to Mingtiandi, the firm had paid RMB 1.7 billion to buy the asset as its maiden investment for Grosvenor Vega China Retail Fund.

The mall opened in 2011 and in 2016 China’s first Legoland Discovery Center took up space.

According to the filing, the net asset value of Parkside Plaza was approximately RMB 27.3 million as of end July this year. The property earned RMB 94.2 million in revenue in 2015.

The filing further added that the acquisition is in line with Joy City’s business and growth strategy of actively exploring suitable properties with high investment value at prime locations in PRC first-tier cities, with an objective of generating stable and considerate income.

In February this year, Grosvenor extended its partnership with the Australia-focused industrial investment manager Propertylink by becoming an anchor investor in the Propertylink Office Partnership 3 (POP3) fund with a A$40 million ($26 million; €26 million) equity commitment.