NEPI Rockcastle has acquired the 100,000 sqm Magnolia Park shopping centre in Wroclaw, Poland, from Union Investment in an off-market transaction. The sale price amounts to €373 million. Union Investment acquired Magnolia Park in 2017 for the portfolio of the open-ended real estate fund UniImmo: Europa.
“NEPI Rockcastle has just acquired one of the top retail assets in Poland. Magnolia Park is a dominant shopping centre in Wroclaw the country’s third largest city and one of its richest. The acquisition will significantly strengthen the Group’s portfolio, consolidating its position as the premier retail real estate owner in CEE. NEPI Rockcastle has a solid track record of adding significant value to the assets acquired, as evidenced by our most recent acquisitions, and this property has significant upside that will fuel NEPI Rockcastle’s growth in coming years,“ Rüdiger Dany, CEO at NEPI Rockcastle, said.
“In this off-market transaction, we benefitted from our strong network and showed that the right product can meet the expectations of buyers and sellers even in a challenging market environment,” says Roman Müller, Head of Investment Management Retail at Union Investment.
“Magnolia Park is one of the largest deals in retail real estate in CEE in recent years and this transaction is in line with NEPI Rockcastle’s investment strategy to increase the concentration of its portfolio in countries with an investment grade rating and focus on core dominant properties. This modern and sustainable shopping centre is of outstanding quality and is well positioned for future growth, both organically and through further value enhancement,” Anca Nacu, Investments Director at NEPI Rockcastle, concluded.
“Magnolia Park continues to perform well in terms of footfall and sales figures. It is currently 99 percent let. We have therefore taken the current opportunity to sell the shopping centre and to strategically reduce our exposure in Poland,” says Henri Eisenkopf, Director of Transactions Shopping Places at Union Investment.
The shopping centre is one of the Top 10 malls in Poland and enjoys a strategic location in Wroclaw, with excellent visibility and access both by car and public transport, which is reflected in its outstanding operational performance and very high occupancy rate of more than 99 percent. The shopping centre has an immediate catchment area of over 360,000 people within 15 15-minute drive and a regional catchment of almost 1.4 million consumers within one hour’s travelling,
Anchor tenants among the 240 stores in the centre include well-known brands such as Carrefour, Primark, Castorama, Decathlon, Media Markt, Peek & Cloppenburg, Zara, Half Price, H&M, Reserved, TK Maxx and Helios. Magnolia Park has a BREEAM Excellent sustainability certification.
NEPI Rockcastle was assisted by Linklaters as buy-side legal advisor, PwC on tax and financial aspects and PM Services as technical advisor while Union Investment was advised commercially by JLL, legally by CMS and on tax aspects by Thedy & Partners.
