Hammerson and VIA Outlets acquire four European outlet centres

London - Hammerson and its partners from VIA Outlets, APG, Meyer Bergman and Value Retail have joined forces to acquire four established European outlet centres, worth a total of 502 million pounds. The agreement, which is subject to regulatory clearance, is part of the global real estate firms growth strategy in the European outlet market.

The four outlet centres, located in key positions near major cities in Germany, Portugal, Spain and Poland, represent total gross asset value of 587 million euros (502 million pounds). The largest outlet centre to be acquired in the deal is in Zweibrucken, Germany. Spanning 29,000 square meters, it is located on the border between France, Germany and Luxembourg and is said to be Germany's first established retail outlet centre. The shopping centre offers brands such as Versace, Michael Kors, Polo Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger and Esprit. Other outlets included in the agreement are Vila Do Conde, located close to Porto, Portugal, one found in the north east of Seville in Spain and one in Wroclaw, Poland.

"This is a rare opportunity to acquire strong outlet centres in an off-market transaction. Well-positioned European outlets continue to deliver strong sales growth supported by an improving customer offer and increasing tourist numbers across Europe," said Timon Drakesmith, CFO and Managing Director, Premium Outlets, Hammerson and Chairman, VIA Outlets Advisory Committee. "Our active capital recycling programme is tilting Hammerson’s portfolio towards faster-growth end-markets to reinforce our consistent earnings growth profile."

Hammerson, which holds a 47 percent in VIA Outlets, share of the acquisition funding comes to 170 million euros (145 million pounds). Once the transaction is successfully completed, it will see the total size of the VIA Outlets portfolio grow to 1.1 billion euros across 10 assets.