Investment Management Group (IMG) has completed its acquisition of an approximately 70% stake in a retail park to be built in Tver, Russia, on behalf of its Russia Development Fund.
The retail park, developed by Normal Asset Management (NAM), will be the largest modern shopping center of its class to be built in Tver, a city located 134 km northwest of Moscow.
The project will consist of two big box anchors: a hypermarket operated by Globus, a German retailer, and a DIY store operated by French group Leroy Merlin, which will be connected by a retail gallery.
The project will have a total GBA of approximately 65,500 m² built on a 16-ha plot. RDF's equity investment, alongside NAM's investment, is directed at the development of the project's multi-tenant retail gallery component, which will have a GBA of approximately 25,600 m².
The retail gallery is expected to attract major international and domestic Russian retail chains that are projected to have strong demand for a presence in what will be the preeminent retail park in the Tver Region.
The site of the retail park is advantageously located alongside the main road connecting Tver to the new Moscow-St. Petersburg Federal Highway. Construction on the project is scheduled to commence in the second quarter of 2012, and its opening is anticipated in the second half of 2013.
The project's easy accessibility from Tver and from the Moscow Region, strong anchors and good tenant mix are expected to make it a major retail destination for the over 400,000 people who live within its catchment area.
IMG is a real estate private equity fund manager. Speaking of the transaction, Maksim Kunin, Managing Partner at IMG, said: "Russia features prominently in many international retailers' expansion plans, and they're taking notice of unmet consumer demand in regional cities beyond Moscow, such as Tver.
"As this project demonstrates, their requirements for high-quality, modern retail space in the regions will present very attractive opportunities for developers and investors for the foreseeable future."
Mark Wrong of Normal Asset Management added: "The combination of the early commitments from major multinational retailers as anchors and RDF's equity investment has resulted in the creation of an international-grade consortium that will deliver the leading retail destination in the Tver Region.
"It is a pleasure to work with such partners and all participants expect that this will be the first of several projects developed together. We are excited about this project and optimistic about the future."
Source: Investment Management Group
