The Aviva Central European Property Fund has acquired the Shopping Centrum Hron in Bratislava, Slovakia, for an undisclosed sum.
The Aviva Central European Property Fund is a closed ended Luxembourg based fonds commun de placement managed by a trio of Europeans. They are Morley Fund Management with Germany's SachsenFonds and property services firm King Sturge being joint asset managers. The fund invests in a diversified portfolio of retail, office and industrial assets across countries in Central and Eastern Europe.
Harin Thaker, member of the board of Hypo Real Estate Bank International who is responsible for Europe, the Middle East and India, said in a statement: “We are very pleased to have assisted the Aviva Central European Property Fund with yet another acquisition in the region, their first in Slovakia.”
Morley is one of the largest managers of European property funds, managing in excess of €43 billion ($66 billion) of UK and European property assets. SachsenFonds is owned by the KanAm Group, one of Germany's biggest property fund management firms.
The Aviva Central European Property Fund was launched in January 2005 and held a second close in June that year bringing equity commitments to approximately €110 million.
The fund has since raised a toal of €211 million of equity following a fifth and final closing in February 2007. By the end of 2007, the fund had acquired approximately €526 million of property in Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Romania.
It was launched with the aim of acquiring €600 million worth of real estate and to deliver an internal rate of return above 12 percent.