Belgians buy four retail parks for 40 million euros

Belgium’s Mitiska REIM, one of Europe’s largest retail park investors, has completed the purchase of four shopping centres in Portugal, previously owned by Blackstone and managed by Multi Portugal. The value of the transaction was not disclosed, but ECO knows that it was around 40 million euros, having been financed by Novo Banco.

In question are Alverca Retail Park, Santarém Retail Park, Aveiro Retail Park and Lima Retail Park (Viana do Castelo). These were “acquired by Mitiska REIM, which acted on behalf of the First Retail International 2 fund,” says the manager, in a statement.

“Located in the central and northern regions of the country, the four retail parks represent a gross lettable area (GLA) of approximately 78,500 square metres and increase Mitiska REIM’s portfolio in Portugal to six retail parks in operation, totalling a GLA of around 116,100 square metres and a development project,” one reads.

The value of the transaction – advised by RPE, RRP Advogados, PwC, Gleeds, Ambiente LLP and Cushman & Wakefield – has not been communicated. Mitiska REIM merely stated that this acquisition “was made with recourse to bank financing by Novo Banco.” However, ECO is aware that the transaction was closed for around 40 million euros, equivalent to a yield of over 7.5%. This figure represents a low square meter price, given that the locations are not the best and the retail park sector is not yet with very high yields, a market source explained to ECO.

“Over the past three years, we have built a retail park platform across the country, adding over 135,000 square meters of GLA both in operation and under development. This latest acquisition, one of the largest ever seen in Portugal, consolidates Mitiska REIM’s leading position in the market,” says Alfonso Cuesta, investment director (Spain and Portugal) of Mitiska REIM.

After this transaction, “we will continue to invest in the domestic economy,” says Enzo Guidez, Senior Investment Associate at Mitiska REIM. This investment will be “through new promotion projects (already in the development phase),” but also “through improvements to our existing portfolio or simply through new investment opportunities that may arise,” he concludes.