Union Investment has acquired Sophienhof shopping center in Kiel from Aberdeen Immobilien Kapitalanlagegesellschaft for its open-ended real estate fund UniImmo: Deutschland.
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Since July 2008 the center has been managed and let by market leader ECE.
Sophienhof formed part of the DEGI Europa open-ended real estate fund, managed by Aberdeen since 1972. Aberdeen was advised on the transaction by brokers Jones Lang LaSalle and law firm GSK, Frankfurt. Union Investment was advised by brokers CBRE and law firm Clifford Chance.
Opened in 1988, the centrally located shopping center is very well established and its 120 shops are almost fully let. In 2012/13, it is due to be refurbished and will undergo an expansion and modernization program. This will create a total of 2,300 m² of new rental space, meaning the shopping center will offer some 43,922 m². Sophienhof is easily accessible from the adjacent central bus and railway station. For car drivers, there are 988 parking spaces available.
Since July 2008 the center has been managed and let by market leader ECE. Union Investment has entrusted ECE with long-term management and with the upcoming restructuring.
The Querpassage mall in Kiel, which is located next to Sophienhof, is already a Union Investment property and likewise managed by ECE. Union Investment's broadly diversified portfolio of European shopping centers currently comprises 30 properties and two projects with a total value of around 5 billion.
Source: Union Investment Real Estate GmbH
