Hammerson and VIA Outlets acquire four European outlet centres
Hammerson and its partners in VIA Outlets, APG, Meyer Bergman and Value Retail, have signed an agreement to acquire four established outlet centres as part of its growth strategy in the European outlet market.
The retail venues, situated close to major cities in Germany, Portugal, Spain and Poland, are worth a total of £502 million. The transaction takes the total size of the VIA Outlets portfolio to €1.1 billion across 10 assets and delivers critical mass to the European outlets venture.
The largest outlet to be acquired is in Zweibrucken in Germany. Spanning 29,000 square metres, it has 114 tenants including Versace, Michael Kors, Polo Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger and Esprit.
Other centres included in the agreement are Vila Do Conde in Portugal and outlets in Spain and Portugal.
Timon Drakesmith, chief financial officer and managing director, Premium outlets at Hammerson and chairman of VIA Outlets advisory committee, said: “This is a rare opportunity to acquire strong outlet centres in an off-market transaction. Well-positioned European outlets continue to deliver strong sales growth supported by an improving customer offer and increasing tourist numbers across Europe. Our active capital recycling programme is tilting Hammerson’s portfolio towards faster-growth end-markets to reinforce our consistent earnings growth profile.”
