Atrium European Real Estate has signed an agreement to acquire Wars Sawa Junior, a prime retail asset located in the centre of Warsaw, for €301.5m.
The vendor is PFCEE, a fund managed by CBRE Global Investors. Following the transaction, Atrium’s loan to value ratio will increase from 33.5% to approximately 37%, in line with the company’s expectations.
The transaction is subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions precedent, with completion anticipated during the fourth quarter of this year.
Built in the early 1970s, Wars Sawa Junior was originally Warsaw’s first department store. Having been remodelled, extended and upgraded a number of times, it is now one of Warsaw’s most well established and popular retail centres with footfall in excess of 60 million visitors per annum.
It offers 26,000 sq m GLA which is fully let to a range of strong international and domestic retail and leisure brands such as H&M, C&A, CCC, TK Maxx and Zara. Additionally, the centre offers a further 11,000 sq m of office and storage space.
Wars Sawa Junior has direct access to Warsaw’s metro (two lines), trams and buses, as well as a number of local car parking facilities. In addition, the planned projects of the Museum of Modern Art in Central Park and additional office buildings will further enhance the attractiveness of the Centre’s surroundings in the coming years.
Liad Barzilai, CEO of Atrium Group, said: “Wars Sawa Junior is one of the most well-known, best located shopping destinations in downtown Warsaw and this high footfall retail asset is a superb addition to our Polish portfolio. Not only does Wars Sawa Junior add another large dominant retail destination to our growing Warsaw asset base, it also offers a number of exciting opportunities for redevelopment and asset management that will allow us to grow the centre and create further value, taking full advantage of its unique prime central location. The acquisition is in line with our strategy of focusing Atrium’s portfolio towards prime shopping centres in Poland and the Czech Republic with the higher quality cash flow growth that they provide.”
RPA Perspective Also in Poland, Trei Real Estate is further expanding its retail portfolio. The real estate subsidiary of the Tengelman Group has opened its ninth Polish retail park under the Vendo Park brand in Chodziez. Totalling 4,150 sq m, the new property offers a diverse selection of brands and Pepijn Morshuis, CEO of Trei Real Estate, said: “In Chodziez, we identified another attractive location for expanding our portfolio of Polish retail parks. Thanks to optimal transport connections and a varied economic structure, this town with 20,000 inhabitants offer excellent growth opportunities.”
Chodziez is situated roughly 70 kilometres north of Poznan and is a popular destination with its three nearby lakes and its lively sports and cultural scene. Morshuis said: “We see particularly strong potential in small and medium-sized Polish towns like Chodziez, as they are often considerably undersupplied.”
In total, the Trei portfolio has 18 Vendo Parks in Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, with 10 other centres currently being developed. “Our goal is to have a portfolio of around 50 retail parks,” Morshuis said.
Recently, Trei opened new locations in Skierniewice, Lodz, Swidnica and Dabrowa Gornicza.
Finally, IKEA has opened its first store in Latvia. The biggest IKEA store in the Baltic states is located at the intersection of Juglas and Bikernieku streets and is 15 minutes’ drive from Riga city centre.
Inga Filipova, Ikea Latvia store manager, said: “Before entering the Latvian market, we carried out more than 30 studies to understand the needs and dreams of inhabitants of this country and to come up with solutions, which will help to live a better life at home. Based on the findings, we are offering such localized solutions like small kitchens, home organization systems, kids rooms dedicated for two kids, interior for small space living.”
