AIB Capital Markets Polonia II Fund acquires Fashion House Warsaw for €45m (PL)

AIB Capital Markets has announced that its Polonia Property Fund II Ltd. has acquired a leading designer outlet center in Warsaw, Fashion House Outlet Centre, from The Outlet Company, Poland's principal market developer of outlet centers, for €45 million. When completed, the Centre will comprise c. 17,272 m² consisting of c. 125 retail outlets and 960 car parking spaces.










Fashion house outlet centre.


Located in Warsaw, the Centre's distinctive architectural theme is 'Warsaw Old Town style'. The Centre houses many international brands such as Nike, Adidas, Levi, Puma, Reebok and Mexx. Phases one and two comprise a lettable area of 12,205 m². Phase three is currently under construction.

GVA Grimley advised The Outlet Company on the disposal and CB Richard Ellis acted as advisor during the transaction process for Polonia II Fund.

Eamonn Crowley, President of the Fund, said, "We are delighted to have acquired this high class property which represents the first major retail center for the Fund. This is a solid investment providing long term value and the prospect of future rental and capital growth."

Miroslaw Januszko, Chief Investment Officer of Polonia II, added, "We are happy to start the investment activity of the new Fund by adding to our portfolio new property acquired from such a quality developer. We thank all teams and advisors for excellent work and are looking towards further exciting co-operation opportunities."

Neil Thompson, CEO of The Outlet Company, commented, "In AIB we believe we have the ideal partner to continue the major success story of Fashion House Outlet Centres in Poland and elsewhere. The Outlet Company retains the Fashion House brand and the operational management of Fashion House Warsaw. We are very excited by the future prospects for this alliance"

Tom Dootson, founder and major shareholder of The Outlet Company who began work on outlet projects in Poland 10 years ago and acquired their first land in 2001, said, "I'm delighted that the vision we had in the beginning has come to such a successful fruition."

Patrick Van den Bossche of Liebrecht & Wood and shareholder in TOC said of the sale: "The level of interest in this investment opportunity is indicative of the strength of the Polish domestic economic market. Warsaw has an average wage of €21,000 per annum and only 4% unemployment rate in the service sector dominating its micro economy."

Rob Bould, partner at GVA Grimley, said, "This is a significant sale of a modern fashion-focused outlet centre with international brands and excellent opportunity for growth. We were overwhelmed by the response to the sale and are delighted with the result."

The Polonia Property Fund II Limited is a €800-million closed-end property fund managed by AIB PPM Sp. z o.o., a subsidiary of AIB Capital Markets. The fund target is commercial property in Poland, with an allocation of up to 30% to other CEE countries. The fund is actively pursuing additional property investments.

Source: GVA Grimley

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