Valad Europe looking to acquire €500 million of retail schemes in CE

Real estate investment manager Valad Europe has entered into a joint venture agreement with a new investor to build a portfolio of Central European retail assets worth some €500 million, called the Valad Central Europe Retail Partnership (VCERP), the company said in a statement. It has also completed the partnership’s first investment by purchasing the 36,500-sqm Galeria Butovice shopping center in Prague, Czech Republic, from ING Real Estate Finance. “Our local team on the ground is actively seeking attractive investment opportunities which meet VCERP’s investment criteria and where we can apply value-add asset management strategies to generate attractive returns,” said Karol Pilniewicz, Valad Europe’s head for Central Europe. VCERP will invest in value-add assets in Central Europe, predominantly focused on Poland and the Czech Republic. It will acquire first and second generation shopping centers, retail parks and retail outlets in primary and secondary macro locations in Poland and the Czech Republic. Seeded with €200 million of equity, VCERP will employ between 60 and 70 percent of leverage, with strong cash-on-cash yields.