Henderson raises additional €245m for European mall fund

The third closing follows a €12 million acquisition in Belgium.

Henderson Global Investors has held a third close on its European Outlet Mall Fund, having raised €245 million ($369 million) from institutional investors. This third close brings the total amount of equity raised to €624 million, well on the way to the fund’s geared target of €1.5 billion.

Investors in this round of funding included Allianz, BNP Paribas Assurance, clients of CBRE Investors, the Cordares European Retail Property Fund and the Aberdeen Indirect Property Partners. The fund was launched in February 2004, and will limit itself to EU and EEA countries.

The Fund is targeting total and income returns of 13 percent and 7 percent annually respectively. “Outlet Malls, a specialist sub-sector of the retail market, is an area where we have a great deal of experience and skill and where we own some of the best known and largest assets in Europe, such as Serravalle in Italy,” said Henderson director Neil Varnham. “We continue to drive turnover growth at our assets, and this, in turn, continues to fuel tenant demand and performance for our investors.”

Just before the third closing, the European Outlet Mall Fund acquired the Factory Outlet in Messancy, Belgium for €12 million from Intervest Retail. The 18,500 square meter site currently comprises forty-eight retail units and sits in an area that borders France, Germany and Luxembourg. The firm said the Messancy outlet will undergo a substantial refurbishment program in order to enhance the retail offer and create a regionally dominant center.

The assets in the Fund’s portfolio are managed by designer outlet manager and developer McArthurGlen.