A Spanish real estate investment trust (REIT) majority-owned by South African investors has bought nine retail parks across Spain for 鈧�193m.
Castellana Properties Socimi, in which South Africa鈥檚 Vukile Property Fund owns a 93% stake, acquired the porfolio from a joint venture between European listed property company Redevco and US private equity firm Ares Management.
Redevco Iberian Ventures, the joint venture , has been managing and improving the retail parks, which encompass some 117,700sqm and are 97% occupied.
They are leased to 72 tenants, including grocery chains Mercadona, Aldi and Dia, and fashion brands C&A, Kiabi and Merkal Calzados.
Andrew Vaughan, Redevco鈥檚 CEO, said: 鈥淥ur joint venture has taken these properties to the next level, cementing their dominance in their catchment areas so that they continue to attract shoppers and retailers.
鈥淲e identified a number of initiatives to enhance the operating performance of these assets, and we have worked closely with our tenants to modernise and improve the quality of the parks.鈥�
Bill Benjamin, partner of Ares Management and head of the Ares Real Estate Group, said: 鈥淎res invested in these retail parks at the early stages of the Spanish recovery.
鈥淭his sale demonstrates the strength of our JV, which enabled us to quickly assemble and reposition a portfolio of critical mass for exit to an institutional buyer.鈥�
