Temprano sells Porto retail & buys Student Residences

Temprano Capital Partners has started the year selling Focus Retail Park, in Porto to Belgian based retail park specialist Mitiska REIM and buying a new site in Porto for a student residence.

Temprano has started 2019 with the sale of a 8,400m² retail park it had added to its portfolio in 2015. This is set to allow the oppportunistic retail fund to focus on new repositioning opportunities. 

In the alternatives front, Temprano has a partnership with CPA®:18 – Global, through which it has purchased a new site in Porto (Portugal) strengthening its student residence portfolio in Iberia. This follows the acquisition of a 10,000m² plot in Valencia with the same joint venture partner.

Temprano has also opened TSL Marques de Pombal their first project in joint venture with WPCarey. The building, which is located in the heart of downtown Lisbon, in close proximity to the Avenida de Liberdade and the landmark Marques de Pombal square, also marks the first project of it’s kind in the local and regional student residence markets.

Focus Park is an 8,400m² hypermarket-anchored neighbourhood retail park in Vila Nova de Gaia, within the Porto district of Portugal.

When Temprano purchased the asset in 2015 over 70% of rental income was secured on a 14-year unexpired lease with Jumbo (Auchan). Since acquisition Temprano Capital Partners has re-geared leases, leased the vacant space, secured outline planning permission to increase GLA and secured debt financing. As a result during its ownership, occupancy increased to 100 percent and NOI increased by 39 percent.

According to Timothy Young “when we acquired the asset at the end of 2015 there was still considerable investor uncertainty regarding Portugal. Over the period of our ownership we have been fortunate to benefit from an improving occupier market, allowing us to improve and secure the income profile of the existing asset. During 2017 improving investor sentiment towards Portugal made a sale attractive. Receipt of the outline planning permission for the extension further reinforced this, leaving good upside potential for the next owner.”

Axel Despriet, CEO of Mitiska REIM, has added that they «are delighted to have entered Portugal, a market where Mitiska is now seeing good momentum in respect to both the economic cycle and real estate market. In the aftermath of the economic crisis, a number of retailers and investors held back from Portugal. We are now seeing precisely the opposite trend, with real estate transactions at near record highs, and retailers and investors flowing back in, drawn by the improved economic environment and attractive risk/return opportunities.”

Temprano was advised by the Lisbon office of RPE for the retail transaction.