AEW, acting on behalf of the Europe City Retail Fund, has acquired eight assets via two transactions in Lisbon and Porto, Portugal. The portfolio comprises 5,300m² of high street retail. The purchase price was not disclosed.
In Lisbon, four units are located on the main prime shopping streets of Liberdade and Rua Augusta. These assets are fully let to brands including Armani Exchange, ba&sh and Pinko. The remaining four assets are located on the pedestrianized Rua Santa Catarina in Porto and are fully let to tenants including Adidas and Rituals.
Nikos Koulouras, Co-Head of Investments for AEW’s Private Equity Funds in Europe, commented: “As AEW’s first investments in Portugal, this marks an important milestone in our European investment strategy. Portugal is characterised by a growing economy, which outperformed the European average in 2018, with strong consumer confidence indicators and a positive occupational market. Beyond retail, we are also focusing on acquiring well-located office assets with a value-add strategy as we strongly believe in the ongoing growth in the Portuguese economy and the fundamentals of the Lisbon office market.”
Christina Ofschonka, Fund Manager for Europe City Retail at AEW, added: “The addition of these assets further enhances the income profile of the Fund and follows the swift deployment of capital on behalf of the Fund into a range of prime retail destinations across Europe. Following the Fund’s entry into the UK and Dutch markets, we are pleased to diversify the portfolio further with the addition of Portugal.”
