McArthurGlen has announced that it has taken over the management and leasing of the B5 Outlet Centre at Brandenburg, near Berlin, Germany. The move is a two-fold first for McArthurGlen: it is the companys first foray into the designer outlet market in Germany and it marks the first time McArthurGlen has taken over a third party management contract on an existing center.
McArthurGlen enters Germany at Berlin with the established B5 Outlet Centre, which opened in 2000, in a catchment area of more than 4 million people within a 60 minute drive and over 5 million tourists visiting the area each year. The B5 Outlet Centre currently has 40 stores across 17,000 m² GLA. Brands include Tommy Hilfiger, Mexx, Benetton, Mango and Nike. It was recently acquired from Hammerson by Henderson Global Investors for its European Outlet Mall Fund, which has an approximate value of approximately €850 million (£550 million).
Germany holds much allure for us.We plan to further expand our business in Germany the country is under-resourced in terms of the availability of quality designer outlet retail opportunities and statistics show resurgence in consumer confidence. We are currently looking for potential development sites, particularly in the area surrounding Hamburg, as well as evaluating the potential of other third party management opportunities across Europe, said Julia Calabrese, CEO of McArthurGlen.
The B5 Outlet Centre increases the McArthurGlen portfolio to 15 properties across Europe and comes on the heels of the most recent opening in March of the Barberino Designer Outlet, near Florence.
Source: Financial Dynamics
