Corio España will renovate and extend three out of the total eight shopping centres in its portfolio in close cooperation with different architects and project managers. The shopping centres El Ferial in Parla (6,800 m²), La Loma in Jaén (9,700 m²) and Sexta Avenida in Madrid (11,500 m²) will be renovated and extended with respectively approximately 20,000 m², 4,600 m² and 3,500 m². The total additional investments in these projects will amount to approximately 57 million. With these three projects Corio España is taking advantage of the opportunity to further improve the position of its existing centres and to strengthen her portfolio.
Corio España has signed an agreement to acquire land for the extension of El Ferial in Parla for an amount of 16 million. The local authorities strongly support this renovation and extension. El Ferial is well established in its catchment area, since it is functioning as the centre of the suburban town of Parla, 20 kilometres south of Madrid. Considering the increasing growth of the population to more than 100,000 inhabitants, the local
municipality and Corio have the desire to increase the retail and leisure offer.
The existing centre El Ferial consists of a Carrefour hypermarket, a multi-screen cinema, some retail warehouses and a shopping gallery. The shopping gallery of 6,800 m² lettable area owned by Corio is very successful, and will be renovated and extended to 27,000 m² lettable area. The total additional investment will amount to approximately 42 million with an expected net initial yield of at least 7%. The opening is expected to be in the first half of 2009. During the four years before the completion of the project the shopping centre will remain fully operational.
Furthermore, Corio España has reached principal agreements with relevant parties for the renovation and extension of its shopping centre La Loma in Jaén. La Loma is located on the eastern side of the city, directly off the main highway connecting Madrid to Granada - Malaga. The city of Jaén, the primary catchment area of the centre, has 115,000 inhabitants and the secondary catchment area totals an additional 43,000 inhabitants. La Loma was constructed in 1991 and has a Carrefour hypermarket with a total built area of 18,500 m² and a shopping gallery of 9,700 m² lettable area owned by Corio. In order to strengthen the in its catchment area dominant position of the centre, the existing gallery will be renovated and extended with 4,600 m². The total additional investment will be approximately 9 million with an expected net initial yield of at least 7%. The renovation will be completed in 2006 and the extension in 2007.
Finally Corio España is extending and will renovate its shopping centre Sexta Avenida (11,500 m²) in Madrid. Sexta Avenida is a life style centre and the tenant mix with boutiques and restaurants fits with the relatively wealthy primary catchment area. To strengthen this quality even further the centre will be renovated and Corio El Ferial, La Loma and Sexta Avenida - 26 May 2005 2 extended with 3,500 m². The extension has been let on a long-term lease to a spa/health-club/beauty clinic (O2 Centro Wellness). The total additional investment will amount to approximately 6 million against a net initial yield of at least 7%. The extension will be completed by June 2005 and the renovation by June 2006.
These investments fit very well into Corio's strategy. The focus of Corio is on continuously optimising and extending the current portfolio in its core countries (the Netherlands, France, Italy, Spain and since April Turkey) amongst others by upgrading the centres in line with the requirements of the consumers and the catchment area. This provides moreover an additional value for our consumers, tenants and centres and our shareholders. Corio is listed at the Euronext Amsterdam and Paris.
Source: Corio
