Union Investment has successfully sold the Belgian shopping centre "Les Grands Prés" in Mons in a share deal. The buyer of the property is the listed Dutch real estate company Eurocommercial Properties, which focuses its investments on shopping centres. The agreed total purchase price for 100 percent of the company shares is around EUR 265 million. This transaction represents the highest-volume shopping centre deal in Belgium since 2018. Closing is expected to take place on 4 November.
Completed in 2003, the retail centre was acquired as a new build in 2004 for around EUR 109 million for the portfolio of the open-ended retail real estate fund UniImmo: Europa. Between 2014 and 2016, the Hamburg-based fund manager carried out an extensive modernisation and expansion programme with an investment volume of around EUR 70 million. These measures added 8,200 square metres of retail space as well as a new IKEA store.
Strategic portfolio rejuvenation
Roman Müller, Head of Investment Management Retail at Union Investment, framed the sale within the strategic direction of the portfolio. According to him, the property was continuously developed over the 22-year holding period, enabling sales to grow by more than 30 percent compared to pre-pandemic levels since 2019. He noted that the sale is now being made for strategic reasons to rejuvenate the existing portfolio.
In the future, the fund's focus is set to shift increasingly towards more liquid assets with small to medium lot sizes. As Müller explained, the disposal also makes a distinctly positive contribution to the performance of UniImmo: Europa and delivers a lasting boost to the fund's liquidity.
Property details and advisory partners
The shopping centre is situated south-west of Brussels near the French border and is integrated into a large-scale commercial agglomeration. Across an area of 26,900 square metres, the scheme currently accommodates around 100 retail partners and is virtually fully let.
- —JLL and long-standing centre and property manager Ceusters advised Union Investment on commercial matters during the sales process.
- —Linklaters acted as legal and tax adviser to the seller.
- —Clifford Chance also provided legal and tax advice on the structuring of the transaction.
