IMMOFINANZ Group closed the sale of the Silesia City Center in Poland for €412 million to an international consortium of investors led by Allianz. The sale price exceeded the book value, as reported, but no further details on the transaction will be revealed. Parallel to the completion of this sale, IMMOFINANZ has started another retail development project on the Polish market.
It involves the construction of a shopping center with approx. 30,000 m² of rentable space in Stalowa Wola. The investment is expected to total €50 million. Construction should start during the first half of 2014, and completion is scheduled for the first half of 2015.
"For the 2013/14 financial year, we have set a goal to significantly increase our development activities. Poland is one of our core markets and a key location for our currently work on projects in the office, retail and residential sectors", explained Eduard Zehetner, CEO of IMMOFINANZ Group. "Cycle-optimized sales like the Silesia City Center generate the liquidity for investments in new properties and again confirm our valuation approach in Eastern Europe. The Silesia transaction also underscores and supports the recovery that has taken hold on the investment market", indicated Zehetner.
According to CBRE, real estate transactions with a combined volume of €4.5 billion were completed in Eastern Europe during the first half of 2013 - which is 60% over the comparable amount for 2012. The responsibility for Silesia's center management is now taken by ECE, which is part of the buyers' consortium.
With the start of this retail project in Stalowa Wola, IMMOFINANZ is entering a catchment area with nearly 400,000 residents. This city in south-eastern Poland (Voivodeship Ciscarpathia, "Carpathian Foothills") is a crossroads and, due to the steel industry, an important employer for the entire region. This new shopping center will be realized together with the development partner Acteeum Group, which has extensive experience on the Polish retail market (shareholdings: 86% IMMOFINANZ Group, 14% Acteeum Group).
"Stalowa Wola, a so-called secondary city, is a promising location for a retail development project of this size because of the catchment area and the moderate competitive situation. This is confirmed by the first positive responses from potential tenants", added Zehetner.
In Poland IMMOFINANZ Group is currently realizing the Nimbus office building (19,000 m² of rentable space) in Warsaw and the Tarasy Zamkowe (37,000 m² of rentable space), a shopping center with an extensive entertainment and recreational offering in Lublin. The expansion of the STOP.SHOP. retail warehouse chain is also continuing with two locations, in Mlawa and in Ketrzyn, currently under construction. In the residential segment, IMMOFINANZ Group is developing the Riverpark in Poznan (189 apartments) and the third construction stage of the Debowe Tarasy in Katowice (317 apartments).
Source: Immofinanz
