The Aberdeen European Balanced Property Fund has announced the acquisition of the newly built retail park Olen Shopping Park in Olen, Belgium, from VLAECO, a joint-venture company of Belgian construction companies Cordeel and Aertssen.
Located just 35 km east of Antwerp, Olen Shopping Park accommodates 30,800 m² of modern retail space (for both food and non-food retailers), restaurants and 1,500 free parking spaces. The retail park is well connected to the E313 motorway which connects Antwerp to Hasselt and Liege.
Anchor tenants of Olen Shopping Park include well-known international and national retail chains like Decathlon, Apple, Gamma, Krefell, Albert Heijn AS Adventure, Lunch Garden and Walter van Gastel.
Due to its location, scale and tenant mix, the Olen Shopping Park has become a dominant shopping destination within its catchment area in the Kempen region with over 400,000 inhabitants. The roofs of the retail park are used for generating renewable energy by photovoltaic solar panels.
This transaction was sourced through the network of Aberdeen Asset Management in Belgium. Including this transaction, the Gross Asset Value of the Aberdeen European Balanced Property Fund has grown to 516 million.
Gert-Jan Kapiteyn, Fund Manager of the Aberdeen European Balanced Property Fund, commented: "We are very pleased with this transaction because of the high quality of the property, the tenant mix and the location. This acquisition fits very well with the strategy of the Fund to expand the allocation into Belgian retail property.
"The acquired retail park offers a unique combination of scale, amenities, a solid tenant mix and strong covenants. The prospects of this transaction for long-term income growth and capital growth are very attractive. The Fund remains open to similar investment opportunities, particularly in Germany and France concerning retail, office, and industrial/logistics property."
Source: Aberdeen Asset Management
