Hadley Dean
JSE-listed Property company EPP has successfully completed the purchase of four M1 shopping centres, in Poland, closing tranche two of its multiyear M1 transaction.
The M1 transaction, first announced to the market in 2017, involves EPP acquiring eight shopping centres and four retail parks with a GLA of 450 000 m2.
The company is already the largest owner of retail real estate in Poland by gross lettable area (GLA) and this tranche will add 141 000 m2 of GLA to its portfolio.
Tranche two includes shopping centres in Bytom, Czestochowa, Radom and Poznan and is valued at €224-million.
“This tranche of the M1 [transaction] is great for us because it opens three new markets and we expand our reach throughout Poland’s most lucrative markets,” EPP CEO Hadley Dean said in a statement issued on Thursday.
“The properties also add opportunities for us to strategically increase their value,” he added.
EPP took control of the last four M1 shopping centres in tranche two, which means it now controls the full portfolio of eight shopping centres.
The third and last tranche of its M1 shopping centre and Power Park retail park transaction, which is expected to conclude in June 2020, will add four Power Park properties to EPP’s portfolio.
“We stated a long time ago that we intended to be the dominant player in the Polish retail real estate market and, with the addition of these assets, our position is even stronger to capitalise on the unique and dynamic Polish consumer market,” said Dean.