ECE Fund II in Spain buys Intu Asturias shopping center in Oviedo from intu properties plc and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for EUR 290 million

ECE Fund II in Spain buys Intu Asturias shopping center in Oviedo from intu properties plc and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for EUR 290 million

(PRESS RELEASE) HAMBURG, 29-Jan-2020 — /EuropaWire/ —The  European leader in the shopping centers market ECE announced that its ECE Fund II in Spain has acquired the “intu Asturias” shopping center in Oviedo, Spain. Post acquisition, the ECE Fund II has now fully been invested. The Intu Asturias shopping center is in fact the ECE shopping center funds’ first property in Spain.

The ECE European Prime Shopping Centre Fund II has purchased the shopping center for EUR 290 million from a joint venture company through affiliates of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and intu properties plc. Following the shopping center acquisition, ECE will be in charge for its asset and center management as well as the leasing. According to the deal terms, property operator will remain Cushman & Wakefield.

Originally opened in 2001, the property attracts more than nine million visitors per year with its 140 shops across a leasable area of approx. 74,000 m² as well as around 5,000 parking spaces. The shopping center is located in the economically sound Asturias region in northern Spain with strong market positions. Among its anchor tenants are Primark, Media Markt, H&M, an Eroski hypermarket, and the Inditex brands Zara and Bershka.

According to the further plans, the shopping center will be modernized and restructured in some parts in order to attract and accommodate more anchor tenants.

Commenting on the acquisition of intu Asturias shopping center, Dr. Volker Kraft, Managing Director of the ECE Real Estate Partners fund management company, said:

“We are delighted to enter into an attractive market which we have had in our investment focus for some years now. With the acquisition of intu Asturias, we have complemented our ECE Fund II portfolio by adding one of the strongest shopping centers in Spain with more than nine million visitors per year. Although it is currently virtually fully let, we have identified a number of exciting value-add opportunities, which we want to realize in accordance with our investment strategy.”

ECE Real Estate Partners in brief

Europe’s leading alternative investment fund manager (AIFM), ECE Real Estate Partners is active in the shopping centers market operating 24 prime shopping centers across seven European countries with a total fair market value of more than EUR 5 billion.

ECE in brief

Essentially the European leader in the shopping center industry, ECE (www.ece.de) operates 195 shopping centers and activities in twelve countries across Europe with a total market value of around EUR 32.3 billion. ECE remains a family owned business. Founded by mail-order pioneer Professor Werner Otto (1909-2011) in 1965, ECE is still owned by the Otto family and has been managed by Alexander Otto, the founder’s son, since 2000.

Media contacts:

ECE Projektmanagement
Lukas Nemela
Corporate Spokesman
Phone: +49-40-60606-6898
press@ece.com
www.ece.com

SOURCE: ECE