Frey announces retail investments in Spain & Portugal

FREY (ISIN: FR0010588079), specialized in the development and management of open-air shopping centres, has announced the acquisition of a 60,000m² open air shopping centre located in the Algarve, Southern Portugal, from a fund managed by CBRE GIP and Sonae Sierra.

According to Antoine FREY, Chairman and CEO, «this acquisition marks FREY’s first establishment in Portugal, in the Algarve, a region that benefits from dynamic demographic and economic fundamentals. This open-air shopping centre, located in Albufeira, is a high-quality asset that combines a high recurring yield and a significant value creation potential through its renovation and expansion».

In addition to this, the group has announced that it has signed an SPA with Eurofund to buy a 70% stake in the investment company that is developing an open air shopping centre project in Lleida, Catalonia. The property is located halfway between Barcelona and Zaragoza and will cater to a catchment of 300,000 wealthier than average consumers within a 30-minute drive time.

The resulting retail & leisure centre will have a GLA of 56,000m² including a Bonpreu hypermarket, a multiplex cinema with 1,000 seats and over 3,000 parking spaces. The building of the site is expected to start in the course of 2020 and open in early 2023.

Commenting on the joint-venture they have created with Eurofund, Antoine Frey indicates they «have found a first rank and attentive partner to develop a project that perfectly meets the current aspirations of retailers and visitors. After the acquisition of Parc Vallès near Barcelona in early 2018, this transaction perfectly illustrates FREY’s strategy to develop, in France and abroad, a high-quality, secured and highly profitable portfolio».

This project represents an investment of approximately €120 million in total with a 7.25% estimated yield on cost. The transaction will be financed from FREY’s own funds and will be fully consolidated. The payment at closing to Eurofund is €7 million and will completed by different earn outs based on the level of preletting of the site.

About FREY

A planner, developer, investor and manager, FREY is a real estate company specialising in major urban renewal operations as well as the development and operation of open-air shopping centres. Its Shopping Promenade®, an open-air shopping centre, offers a complete range of shopping and leisure activities to create an «enhanced experience» for the whole family. Thanks to its unique expertise, Frey has become a recognised French leader in this resilient asset class, with a deep market (creation, extension, renovation) and in perfect harmony with the expectations of consumers, brands and local authorities. Another structuring pillar of FREY’s know-how is the large mixed urban projects, which it develops with the support of its dedicated subsidiary CITIZERS.

About Eurofund Group

Eurofund Group is a property investor and developer specialized in Shopping Centre developments and repositioning. Eurofund Group created the Shopping Resort concept with the development of Puerto Venecia, Zaragoza, which opened in 2012 as Europe´s largest shopping destination and was voted “Best shopping and leisure centre in the world” at the 2013 Mapic awards. The group is also investing in Logistics, Co-Living and expanding its activity out of the Iberian Peninsula with its first project to develop an urban shopping resort in Italy.