December 11 (SeeNews) - Portuguese retail centre developer Sonae Sierra said on Tuesday it has become the sole owner of ParkLake shopping centre in Bucharest after buying the 50% stake in the mall owned by Irish real estate developer Caelum Development.
Through this deal, whose value was not disclosed, Sonae Sierra aims to strengthen its position on the Romanian market, it said in a press release.
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"This transaction is proof of our continued trust in the performance of a place with such potential. ParkLake has become a landmark in Romania and we want to further enhance the value of this centre, which is already mentioned as a benchmark in the country," Sonae Sierra managing director for investment, asset management and finance for Romania and Greece Thanos Efthymiopoulos said.
Sonae Sierra and Caelum Development started to develop the shopping centre in November 2013 and opened it in September 2017 following a 180 million euro ($205 million) investment.
The mall is located in Titan neighbourhood, Eastern Bucharest and has a gross leasable area (GLA) of 70,000 sq m and 200 shops, the developers said in a joint statement. Its occupancy rate reached 98% at end-October.
Sonae Sierra owns 46 shopping centres in 15 countries, with a market value of 7 billion euro. Currently, Sonae Sierra has 15 projects under development.
The Caelum Group owns and manages an extensive property portfolio throughout Europe including a variety of retail centres comprising over 200,000 sq m of GLA.
($= 0.8785 euro)