Invesco Real Estate, has exchanged contracts on a portfolio of 11 hypermarkets in northern Spain, for IRE's open-ended pan-European fund, with a transaction value totalling €358m.
This is the fund’s third deal in Spain since beginning its acquisition programme in 2009 and marks the firm’s confidence in Spain being one of the fastest growing economies in the eurozone with plentiful interesting opportunities available for institutional investors.
Paddy Bingham, managing director – fund management, IRE commented: “The fund has always had a target weighting towards Spain. Thanks to our local transactions team who understand where the real value lies within the Spanish marketplace and have the right contacts to gain access to the right deals off-market. We are delighted to have secured this quality hypermarket portfolio, which supports the core income return of the fund.”
Alejandro Monge, director - transactions, Spain at IRE said: "There is significant regional diversity in Spain. In general, the major cities and northern Spain are the more affluent and dynamic regions, and it is this diversity that is important to understand, particularly in the retail sector.”
The portfolio consists of 11 properties with a total gross letting area of around 136,000m2 across strong locations in the Basque Country and Navarra regions, two of Spain’s wealthiest regions. The sites are 100% leased to the Eroski Group, one of Spain’s largest retailers and the most dominant retailer in Northern Spain.
IRE exchanged contracts with Gonuri Harizartean - a real estate company owned by Group Topland (50%), Eroski Group (45%) and Mondragon Investments (5%) - as part of a sale and leaseback deal and the transaction is expected to close at the end of February.
