Europa Capital, on behalf of Europa Fund III and together with its joint-venture partners TriGranit Development Corporation (TriGranit) and PKP (Polish State Railways), has successfully sold Poznan City Center. The recently opened award winning 58,000 sqm GLA (164,000 sqm GBA) shopping centre was purchased by Resolution Real Estate Fund IV and ECE Prime European Shopping Centre Fund.
The TriGranit-developed shopping centre opened for trading in October 2013, less than two years after the start of its construction. It incorporates a new bus terminal and railway station, creating a central transport hub for the benefit of Poznan residents and visitors alike.
Since its opening, the new shopping centre has welcomed nearly 5 million visitors in just over four months, an average of more than 40,000 people per day. The centre’s retail and leisure offer encompasses 230 units, with key tenants such as the Inditex brands, Saturn, Sportsdirect, Toys “R” Us, TK Maxx and H&M, just to mention a few.
The project has received numerous international awards: European Property Awards – 5 star award for Best Mixed-Use Development in Poland and highly commended for Best Retail Development; EuropaProperty CEE Green Building Awards – Project of the Year, Mixed-use Project of the Year, and Retail Project of the Year; CEE Retail Real Estate Awards – Retail Project of the Year.
TriGranit was chosen by PKP to revitalize and renew Poznan’s main railway station in 2007, following a competitive tender process with several other real estate development companies. In February 2012, Europa Capital became TriGranit’s joint venture partner for this Public Private Partnership project where PKP contributed the land and the Europa Capital -TriGranit joint venture contributed the necessary financial capital and expertise to see this phase through to completion.
The development was financed by a consortium of banks including Bank Zachodni WBK, Nordea, BRE Bank, Raiffaisen and Hypo Noe.
Europa Capital has been involved in approximately €1 billion of European real estate transactions over the last twelve months, including significant disposals for Europa Fund III, which was raised in 2007 and 2008 with €731 million of equity commitments from international investors.
Robert Martin, Principal at Europa Capital, said: “Poznan City Center is an excellent example of how Europa Capital works for its investors in combination with highly experienced local partners to deliver exceptional assets, and then crystallises the value created through sale to the institutional market.”
Árpád Török, CEO of TriGrant Development Corporation, added: “Poznan City Center has proved to be a huge success. The center constantly receives international recognition. As the leader and developer of the project, we have achieved an outstanding return for not only our shareholders, but also for all our joint venture partners. We developed the main train station of Poznan in record time and construction of the shopping center was completed in 18 months. With the completion of Poznan City Center, the total value of TriGranit developed projects in Poland exceed 1 billion euros. Poznan City Center today is the most frequently visited shopping and entertainment center in the city. We plan to start development of the third phase of the project in the near future, which will comprise Class A offices and a 3-star hotel.”
Jarosław Bator, Managing Director for Real Estate of Polskie Koleje Państwowe S.A., commented: “Poznań City Center is a truly innovative project. The integration of the railway station with regional bus and city transportation has created a modern transportation hub within the city center of Poznań. The proximity of the shopping center, along with the transportation services offers a wide range of additional services, located in one place. The final plans for Poznan involve the construction of footbridge, which will integrate all parts of the railway station. Our main goal is to create railway stations which are landmark destinations.”
