Galeries Saint Lambert (Luik, B) verkocht
(origineel Engelstalig persbericht)
CBRE Global Investors, on behalf of the CBRE European Shopping Centre Fund and AG Real Estate are proud to announce the transfer to AG Real Estate of Galeries Saint Lambert SA, the company that owns the shopping centre Galeries Saint Lambert in Liège.
The shopping centre is located in the historical heart of Liège. The 40,500 sqm shopping centre was developed in 2004 and benefits from a unique location in the high street commercial and historical heart of the city. The asset is situated in the Walloon Region, Belgium. Anchor tenants in the centre are Galeria Inno, Carrefour Supermarket, Media Markt, Fnac and The Sting.
For CBRE Global Investors, the transfer follows the successful completion of the asset business plan, creating rental growth and generating value by renewing lease expirations.
Florencio Beccar, Fund Manager CBRE Global Investors, commented: “We are very pleased with this sale which is the second we have done in the fund. It shows our ability to create value for our investors by successfully implementing our business plan of re-gearing leases at lease expiry and generating a long term income profile. The strong interest in the final product by the institutional market is further testament to our successful strategy.”
Piet van Poppel, Country Manager CBRE Global Investors Belgium, commented: “The sale of this unique high street centre in the heart of Liège, confirms the strong investor demand for dominant, core assets in the Belgian market. This is because of the limited supply and strict government planning restrictions. These factors combined with the favourable retail market outlook and the growing consumer confidence created a strong opportunity to sell the asset.”
The CBRE European Shopping Centre Fund, which was launched in December 2010, is a closed-end, seven year lifetime fund and still holds five assets totalling over EUR 444 million assets under management.
The purchaser, AG Real Estate, is the largest real estate group in Belgium, with a diversified portfolio valued at EUR 6 billion. As subsidiary of AG Insurance, the leading player in the Belgian insurance market, AG Real Estate is able to leverage the group’s financial muscle to support its core activities: Development, Investment, PPP, Financing and Public Car Park Management.
Nadia Vrancken, Head of Retail at AG Real Estate, commented: “We are delighted with the closing of this acquisition which pushes the value of our Retail portfolio over 1 billion Euro. We also consider this deal as an important, but certainly not the final step, in the execution of our geographical diversification strategy.”
Sam Perneel, AG Real Estate’s Transaction & Asset Manager, Retail, states: “The Galeries Saint Lambert has always been a reference in the commercial heart of Liège. It benefits from all the fundamentals of a core shopping center investment: prime location, high footfall, a well-balanced tenant mix and a very good occupancy rate. With a pro-active asset management approach we will make this shopping centre even more attractive for its qualitative tenants and the more than 6 million visitors it attracts on a yearly basis”.
Sam Perneel, AG Real Estate’s Transaction & Asset Manager Retail, stated “The Galeries Saint Lambert has always been a reference in the commercial heart of Liège. It benefits from all the fundamentals of a core shopping center investment: prime location, high footfall, a well-balanced tenant mix and a very good occupancy rate. With a pro-active asset management approach we will make this shopping centre even more attractive for its qualitative tenants and the more than 6 million visitors it attracts on a yearly basis”.
CBRE Global Investors was advised by JLL, CBRE and Linklaters. AG Real Estate was advised by Baker & McKenzie and PwC Belgium.
