Union Investment acquires Magnolia Park – EuropaProperty

Union Investment has expanded its Polish shopping centre portfolio by making its first investment of this kind in Wrocław. The latest addition to open-ended real estate fund Unilmmo: Europa is Magnolia Park, which comprises some 100,000 sqm of retail space. Sold to Union Investment by Blackstone for around €380 million, the shopping centre is almost fully let, with leases having an average of 4.2 years to run. The shopping centre will continue to be managed by Multi after the sale. Cushman & Wakefield advised Union Investment on the transaction.

The Magnolia Park shopping centre is located in the west of Wrocław, approximately four kilometres from the city centre. Its immediate catchment area is densely populated and continues to grow. The centre was completed in 2007 and extended in 2015. It has a total catchment area of around 2.58 million people and attracts some 11 million visitors a year.

Magnolia Park is home to 241 stores. Anchor tenants include strong national and international chains, such as Tesco, Castorama, Saturn, Helios, P&C and Decathlon.

“We look for purchasing power, young and modern properties and sensible prices. This combination, in particular in relation to shopping centres, makes Poland one of the most attractive investment locations in Europe,” said Henrike Waldburg, Head of Investment Management Retail at Hamburg-based Union Investment Real Estate GmbH.

Union Investment’s open-ended special and retail real estate funds now hold seven shopping centres in Polish secondary cities: Katowice, Łódź, Rybnik, Bielsko-Biała, Gdynia, Konin and now Wrocław. The properties comprise total rental space of around 390,000 sqm. The occupancy rate of the approximately €1 billion retail portfolio in Poland is 99 per cent.

In terms of area, Magnolia Park is the largest shopping centre in Union Investment’s Poland portfolio. The second largest shopping centre, with approximately 94,000 sqm of retail space, is Manufaktura in Łódź, which has been part of Union Investment’s Unilmmo: Deutschland fund since 2012.