Encore+ completes sale & leaseback in Madrid.

Encore+, a fund jointly managed by Aviva Investors and LaSalle Investment Management, has acquired a portfolio of 3 retail assets in Spain from Metro Properties (Metro Group). According to Immobilien Zeitung the portfolio has traded at €86 million.

Jeffrey King, Fund Manager of Encore+ at Aviva Investors, says: “the acquisition is part of our strategy to purchase higher yielding assets and increase the Fund’s exposure to logistics. The combination of its urban location, combined with the sector and aggregate lot size, makes this a good fit for the fund. The portfolio is let to an occupier with a strong covenant and is an attractive lot size in terms of investment liquidity.”

JonesDay, Malcolm Hollis, Clifford Chance, Cushman&Wakefield and KPMG have advised Encore+ on the acquisition of the three retail units which are leased to German cash-and-carry operator Makro with a 15-year obligatory period and are situated in Paseo Imperial, Barajas and Alcobendas.

The Makro property in Paseo Imperial was built in 2012 and has a GLA of c. 8,500m² set accross two floors (3,500 on the ground and first floor with approximately 5,000m² on six upper floors including Makro’s Spanish headquarters.  The Makro store in Alcobendas has a GLA of 12,000m² distributed over a basement, ground and mezzanine floor and includes over 600 parking spaces. It is located in Madrid’s affluent northern suburb of Alcobendas which has a population of 114,864 inhabitants. Barajas has a GLA of c. 12,000m² and has been Makro’s flagship store since 1972. It was refurbished in 2015 following a partial rezoning of the site. The property is located near Plenilunio Shopping Centre, in one of Madrid’s most important retail hubs.