AEW announces that it has completed the acquisition of a high street retail asset in downtown Madrid on behalf of the Europe City Retail Fund for c.€50m, marking the Fund’s second acquisition in the Spanish market.
The property, which provides 2,436 m² of retail space, is located on Calle de Fuencarral, where it is the dominant unit on the street and forms one of the key retail anchors thanks to its double façade. Calle de Fuencarral is considered one of the top three retail streets in the centre of Madrid. Upon acquisition, the asset is fully let to the French retailer Decathlon, which is due to take occupancy next year, while other retailers in the vicinity include Mango, Diesel, Adidas, Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger.
The building, which was previously known as Mercado de Fuencarral - a small shopping centre comprising various independent fashion brands and stalls - has been redeveloped by a fund advised by ASG Iberia Advisors and its operating partner Talus Real Estate into a fully modernised single unit.
Nikos Koulouras, Executive Director, Investment: “45 Calle de Fuencarral is the latest in a series of acquisitions AEW has undertaken in the Madrid market in recent years. This transaction is a forward funding agreement that has been 12 months in the making, much like the first Madrid asset we acquired for the Fund, which is another retail development due to be delivered in September. We are committed to the Spanish market and continue to seek interesting opportunities there across our strategies.”
Christina Ofschonka, Fund Manager Europe City Retail: “We are excited to add this landmark building to the Fund’s portfolio. Looking forward we have a number of investment opportunities in the pipeline that will allow us to both grow and further diversify the Fund’s portfolio, while continuing to deploy the equity available to us at a steady rate.”
The Fund’s strategy focuses on building a portfolio of high quality, income producing retail assets that are well located within the main European city centres. Current equity commitments are now close to €500m and the Fund has already made a number of acquisitions in key markets including Milan, Paris, Rome and Copenhagen.
45 Calle de Fuencarral is one of six assets acquired by AEW over the last two years in Spain on behalf of various mandates, and will take assets under management in the Spanish market to €406m. AEW opened its Madrid office headed by Carsten Czarnetzki in January of this year.
AEW was advised by Herbert Smith Freehills and the vendor by Uría Menéndez.
