03 Sep Mitiska REIM sells Spanish retail park to Gestor Real Estates
Mitiska REIM, the leading specialist investor in European convenience real estate, has today announced the sale of Portal Mediterraneo retail park to Gestor Real Estates, a Hungarian privately-owned real estate investment and asset management firm.
Located in the Spanish city of Vinaros, Portal Mediterraneo was originally acquired by Mitiska REIM on behalf of the FRI 2 fund in 2016. In line with recent divestments and fuelled by the strong increase in investor appetite for the retail park sector, this sale marks the completion of Mitiska REIM’s value-add program for the asset and is the 38th successful retail park sale by Mitiska REIM on behalf of funds over the past 9 months, which have delivered in excess of €500 million of sales proceeds and material distributions to the investors in the funds.
Portal Mediterraneo retail park is situated adjacent to a Carrefour hypermarket, with shared parking, on a site conveniently located on a main road in the south of the city. Featuring 13 retail units with a gross leasable area (GLA) of 11,500m2, tenants comprise a mix of national and international brands which include Jysk, Pepco, Media Markt, Sprinter and Kiwoko.
Anna Panosa, Mitiska REIM’s Investment Manager for Spain & Portugal, comments: “Since acquiring Portal Mediterraneo, we have enacted a value-add program to reposition both the image of the retail park and its offering to the catchment area. Through active asset management, we’ve improved its visibility by renovating the facades and signage, reduced energy consumption through the installation of LED lighting, and regeared leases and optimized the tenant mix to create a go-to retail destination for shoppers in Vinaros and the surrounding region.”
Jan Du Bois, Mitiska REIM’s Managing Director for Belgium, Spain and Portugal, adds: “This transaction is another proof of the strong market demand for high-quality convenience real estate assets across Europe. As we progress with fundraising and deploying capital for our latest fund, MEREP 3, we are continuing to see attractive value-add and development opportunities across retail parks, multi-let light industrial, self storage and urban logistics.”
András Gerő, Managing Partner and CEO of Gestor Real Estate, said: “Acquiring Portal Mediterraneo, a prime retail park with a robust tenant mix and a strategic location on the Spanish east coast, perfectly aligns with our strategy of expanding our activity on the Iberian Peninsula, reinforcing our presence in our key market in Spain.
“With Spain’s GDP growth forecasted at 2.5% in 2024, driven by strong external demand and labor force expansion, we believe in the continued strength of the retail park format. Additionally, the expected growth in Spain’s population further supports our confidence in the sustained demand for retail spaces. This is why we are committed to expanding our portfolio with such assets, confident that they will continue to deliver solid returns. Retail parks have consistently shown resilience and high performance, especially during economic downturns, thanks to their ability to attract value-conscious consumers and maintain high occupancy levels.”
Savills acted as selling agent on the transaction and Danubio Homes represented the buyer. Hogan Lovells were the legal advisors to FRI 2 and Araoz & Rueda were legal advisors to Gestor Real Estates.