EPP has successfully completed the purchase of four M1 shopping centres, closing Tranche 2 of its multi-year M1 transaction.
The JSE-listed company is already the largest owner of retail real estate in Poland by GLA and this deal with add an additional 141,000 sq m of GLA to its portfolio. Tranche 2 consisted of M1 shopping centres in Bytom, Czestochowa, Radom and Poznan. The deal is valued at EUR 224 million.
“This tranche of the M1 is great for us because it opens three new markets and we expand our reach throughout Poland’s most lucrative markets. The properties also add opportunities for us to strategically increase their value,” said EPP CEO, Hadley Dean.
EPP took control of the last four M1 shopping centres in tranche 2, which means it now controls the full portfolio of 8 M1 properties. The third and last tranche of its M1 shopping centre and Power Park retail park transaction, which is expected in June 2020, will add four Power Park properties.
“We stated a long time ago that we intended to be the dominant player in the Polish retail real estate market and with the addition of these assets our position is even stronger to capitalize on the unique and dynamic Polish consumer market,” said Dean.
EPP announced the acquisition of 12 M1 shopping centres and retail parks in December 2017.
EPP is the largest owner of retail real estate in Poland in terms of GLA with its portfolio valued at €2.6bn. It operates like a REIT, with a current portfolio of 24 retail properties, six office locations and one development site in Warsaw, offering a total of over 1,000,000 square meters of leasable area in Poland’s biggest cities.
EPP is listed on the stock exchanges in Johannesburg (JSE) and Luxembourg (Euro MTF).
RPA Perspective Poland continues to perform well and Credit Suisse Asset Management (CSAM) has strengthened its international presence, acquiring the first Polish assets on behalf of its real estate funds.
The manager said its real estate funds have acquired two office and retail properties – Ethos and Astoria – in Warsaw.
The five-story Ethos building, comprising 13,000 sq m of office space and 4,500 sq m of retailing was acquired by a CSAM real estate fund. Two CSAM real estate funds acquired Astoria, a 10-story 8,000sqm office building.
Financial details were undisclosed.
Marc-Oliver Tschabold, fund manager at Credit Suisse Asset Management global real estate, said: “These two prestigious buildings in Poland are characterised by sustainable, high-quality construction and are in very attractive locations.
“Furthermore, Poland is a dynamic, liquid real estate market with an annual transaction volume of more than CHF7bn (€6.3bn).”
