A Mexican Fund Acquires the Shopping Centre Ociopía from Cepheus Capital

A private investment fund based in Mexico has acquired a shopping centre located in Orihuela, Alicante, from the fund Cepheus Capital. The deal was closed at the end of last year for an undisclosed amount, but Cepheus Capital acquired it for 5.5 million euros in 2014.

The initial developer of the project was a subsidiary of real estate consultant CBRE, who sold the shopping centre to Cepheus Capital. Inmobic Ociopía SL is the new manager of the centre since the start of 2022 and is 100% owned by L&L International, a law firm from Malaga representing international investors.

Ociopía shopping centre is an open-air retail park with a gross leasable area of 26,000 square metres, located near the town of Orihuela in Alicante. The property has a wide range of shops, restaurants, and entertainment, as well as a large square with garden areas and parking. Its tenants include Mercadona and Día, in the food sector; H&M, Mango, Pull and Bear, Springfield or Stradivarius in fashion; Decathlon or Sprinter in sportswear and restaurant franchises such as 100 Montaditos, Burger King, Domino’s or Foster’s Hollywood.

The Mexican fund has presence in the real estate sector and has reportedly been considering other centres before acquiring Ociopía. Recently, two operations have been closed in the sector: the acquisition of the Torrecárdenas shopping centre by Lighthouse, for 172 million euros; and, for 45 million, Brazilian investors acquired the Ribera del Xúquer shopping centre in Valencia.

Real estate investment reached 3,817 million euros, in the first quarter of 2022, 141% more than in the same period of 2021; according to a report by the consulting firm JLL. The purchase of commercial assets registered a combined volume of 432 million euros, exceeding the investment in offices. Specifically, the purchase of shopping centres represented a total of 162.5 million euros.