Henderson Park has acquired Rathaus Galerie, a shopping centre located in the city centre of Essen, Germany.
The transaction is being undertaken in a joint venture with HBB, a leading German real estate developer and operator who will manage the asset, with Henderson Park as the majority partner.
Rathaus Galerie is a 31,000 sq m freehold shopping centre in a prime location in the centre of Essen. The asset acts as the main entry point for Essen’s city hall and sits directly above Rathaus Essen Station, the city’s central transport hub, providing access to six metro and tram lines, as well as 13 bus lines, with 40,000 passengers passing through on a daily basis.
The prominent building, which forms a bridge across the eastern city ring road, also has generous parking provisions to complement the centre’s strong connectivity.
The shopping centre has been acquired circa 80% let, with anchor tenants including national hypermarket Real and global sports retailer Decathlon.
The acquirer said: “With a 40-year track record of trading and footfall of over 10 million visitors per annum, the Rathaus Galerie presents exceptional repositioning potential following a targeted investment programme to maximise its value, resilience and consumer appeal.”
RPA Perspective The joint venture’s turnaround strategy includes a comprehensive refurbishment, improving the tenant mix to concentrate on convenience retail which best caters to the asset’s high number of local workers and commuters, as well as an enhanced F&B and leisure component.
Nick Weber, founding partner of Henderson Park, said: “This transaction increases our exposure to the highly attractive German market through the acquisition of a proven retail asset at a competitive price point alongside our experienced local partner, HBB. The decision to make our first shopping centre acquisition was driven by the Rathaus Galerie’s dominant status and the latent value we believe can be captured; we intend to implement an asset management strategy that focuses on the introduction of retail and leisure amenities that are most appropriate for the local demographic and which capitalise on the centre’s strong location and surrounding infrastructure. We look forward to building on our new partnership with HBB and exploring further attractive opportunities in Germany that best leverage both parties’ expertise.”
Harald Ortner, managing director of HBB, said:"Rathaus Galerie Essen offers a unique location in one of Essen’s busiest hubs. This "natural" footfall presents a great opportunity to create sustainable value for our new joint venture with Henderson Park and to capitalize on our strengths as a developer. We look forward to this promising collaboration with the entire Henderson Park team and to further joint investment in Germany.”
