CBRE Global Investors has completed the acquisition of the Sfera Shopping Centre in Bielsko-Biala in the Silesia Region, Poland on behalf of a pan-European retail strategy.
The centre consists of two main malls with circa 61,878 sqm of GLA with 230 retail units and 2,068 parking spaces. It is an established city centre scheme with an occupancy rate of 97.2 percent. It is arranged over three floors and has an attractive tenant mix including international fashion retailers H&M, C&A, New Yorker, KappAhl, Zara, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Pull & Bear and Stradivarius.
Sfera is well positioned in the centre of Bielsko-Biala (pop. 174,000), adjacent to the main railway station and close to the city hall. The centre is in the industrial heartland of Poland in Silesia, located 88km south-west of Kraków and 40km of the Czech border. It was built in two phases in 2001 and 2009. It has a catchment of more than 700,000 people within a 45 minute drive. The scheme has office space of 2,427 sqm, a 122-room hotel (operated by Polish chain Qubus).
Florencio Beccar, Head of Retail EMEA, CBRE Global Investors, commented: “Sfera is a well-positioned and well-let dominant shopping centre in a growing market that has a population of low unemployment and high disposable income per capita.”
The centre has enjoyed a good performance due to its location and catchment area, as well as its roster of international retailers that is a key differentiator from Sfera’s competitors. We believe with further asset management activities we can add value to an already well-performing asset.”
Grzegorz Ryszka, Transaction Manager, CBRE Global Investors commented: “The acquisition of Sfera demonstrates CBRE Global Investors interest in, and ability to buy, dominant shopping centres in these attractive economic growth markets. We want to continue the programme of bringing in new tenants, particularly strong fashion retailers, to support our plans to add value and achieve rental growth over the hold period.”
CBRE Global Investors was advised by Linklaters, Cushman & Wakefield and CBRE Building Consultancy. Helaba provided the €96 million of financing for the transaction plus a VAT line in the amount of PLN 200 million.
CBRE Global Investors is the leading retail investment manager in EMEA with €14.8 billion of non-listed retail assets under management, 736 retail assets (of which 85 are shopping centres) across 15 countries and over 6,800 retail tenants.
In Poland, CBRE Global Investors has around €1,256 million of assets under management. With this acquisition, the portfolio will consist of six shopping centres comprising more than 239,000 sqm of GLA.
