Deka sells Ballonti Shopping Centre in Bilbao

After a sale process which started in March 2018, CBRE has successfully concluded its role as advisor to Deka in the sale of Ballonti, a district shopping centre in Greater Bilbao anchored by an Eroski hypermarket, a Primark store, a 6-screen Dock Cinema and a strong selection of mass market fashion brands.

Harbert Management Corporation is understood to have carried out the acquisition through two SPVs (Ballon Investments S.L. & Bilball Centre Investments S.L.) where Harbert’s principal for Iberia, Roque Rotaeche, is listed as a board member.

Deka Immobilien had purchased the shopping center in 2010 from Spanish food distribution chain Eroski for €116M and is understood to have sold the property with a net initial yield in the region of 7%.

Ballonti targets the conurbation formed by the suburbs of Portugalete, Santurce& Sestao which have a population of over 120,000 consumers making it the largest residential hub in Greater Bilbao, after Bilbao itself.

In a slow market marked by a repricing of retail assets, this sale is the fourth shopping centre to trade in Spain after La Veronica in Malaga, Las Terrazas in the Canaries and Dos Mares in Murcia – the latter two had Cushman & Wakefield as advisor.

With over 5.9 million annual visitors, Ballonti opened in 2008 and is located in an attractive province for investors as Vizcaya has a strong industrial economy fuelled by exports particularly of transport equipment, base metals and manufactured goods. In addition, the province’s service sector is very strong and enjoys a relevant tourism component. As a result, the Vizcaya province has one of the lowest unemployment rates in Spain at 11.3% lower than the national average of 13.6% (Eurostat, May 2019)