ECE raises more than €500 million in the first close for new Shopping Center Fund (EU)

ECE European Prime Shopping Center Fund II has had a strong start: The first closing in excess of €500 million has taken place. Investors include, alongside the Otto family and ECE employees, a number of global institutional investors including leading pension funds and sovereign wealth funds.
In addition to a number of existing Fund I investors, ECE was able to secure commitments from a number of new strategic partners for Fund II. The total target volume for the Fund is €750 million which equals a gross asset value of approximately €2 billion.
ECE Fund II will continue the investment strategy of ECE Fund I and focus on acquiring existing European shopping centers with value-add potential.
Zielone Arkady in the Polish city of Bydgoszcz, which is currently under development by ECE, has been secured as the first property for ECE Fund II. The acquisition will take place following the grand opening of the center in 2015. The final closing for the second fund is planned for 2015; the investment period will last until 2018.
Ruediger Cornehl, Managing Director of ECE Real Estate Partners: “We continue to see excellent investment opportunities in our target markets including Germany, Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic, Scandinavia, Italy, Spain, and Turkey, which offer a wide array of attractive value-add opportunities and can be realized through refurbishments, extensions, or the optimization of the branch and tenant mix.”
Dr. Volker Kraft, Managing Director of ECE Real Estate Partners: “After successfully investing our first fund, we are delighted to have received the renewed trust and substantial commitments from leading investors in Europe, Asia, and North America. This supports our long-term aim to become Europe's leading fund manager in the dominant European shopping center space.”
Source: ECE