NEPI Rockcastle has acquired 100% of the shares in Milvus, which owns Aura shopping centre in the city of Olsztyn in Poland.
Aura Centrum is a prominent shopping and entertainment destination in the heart of Olsztyn city centre with a gross lettable area of over 25,000 sq m and annual footfall of 5.5 million people.
Opened in 2005, the centre was extended in 2009 and was further modernised in 2013 and 2016 to keep it at the forefront of modern shopping. Aura Centrum is 94.2% let, including key anchors such as Carrefour, H&M, Helios cinema, LPP brands (Reserved, Cropp, House, Mohito, Sinsay, Home & You), Martes Sport, New Yorker, RTV Euro AGD and Smyk.
The aggregate purchase price for Aura Centrum was €64.9m. The centre has a current net operating income of €5.3m per annum, excluding potential income from vacancies.
The acquisition of Aura Centrum creates regional synergies for NEPI Rockcastle, which also owns Galeria Warmińska, the dominant shopping centre in Olsztyn. Consolidation of both properties in the company’s portfolio allows for a more bespoke positioning of the two centres and a tailoring of the offering to their respective customers in the regional catchment area, thereby creating a more diversified shopping and leisure selection.
NEPI Rockcastle has also acquired 100% of the shares in the holding company which owns Ozas Shopping and Entertainment Centre in Vilnius, Lithuania, from ARENA Zweite Verwaltungs. Ozas is located in Vilnius, the capital city of Lithuania, and has a GLA of over 60,000 sq m. The centre has a strong fashion and entertainment-oriented tenant mix and attracts an affluent customer base with above-average disposable income.
Ozas opened in 2009 and benefits from a simple and effective layout. It has a wide retail offering, including numerous international tenants such as Adidas, Bershka, CCC, Deichmann, Gant, H&M, Karen Millen, Jack&Jones, Lindex, LPP brands (Reserved, Cropp, House, Mohito, Sinsay), Maxima, Multikino, New Yorker, Peek & Cloppenburg, Pierre Cardin, Salamander, Swarovski, Timberland, Tommy Hilfiger, Top Shop, and Zara.
The catchment area of 432,000 inhabitants within 30 minutes includes residential districts and the main office area of Vilnius. The centre is located at the crossing of two highly frequented north-south traffic axes, benefitting from excellent transportation links within its catchment area.
RPA Perspective The acquisition of Ozas marks the company’s entry point into the Baltic region, one of the most developed areas in Central and Eastern Europe with an affluent and highly educated population. The aggregate purchase price for Ozas was €124.6m. The centre has a current net operating income of €8.8m per annum, excluding potential income from vacancies.
NEPI Rockcastle is a commercial property investor and developer, listed on the Main Board of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange Limited (JSE) and Euronext Amsterdam.
NEPI Rockcastle plc resulted further to the merger of New Europe Property Investments plc (NEPI) and Rockcastle Global Real Estate Company Limited (Rockcastle) on 11 July 2017, becoming the leading property investment and development group in CEE, and one of the top ten in Continental Europe by market capitalization.
The Group has an exceptional property portfolio with dominant position in Romania, Poland and Slovakia and strong presence in Croatia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Czech Republic and Serbia, progressing with a retail expansion programme in other Central and Eastern Europe markets.
