SECOND ECE FUND ACQUIRES “ERLANGEN ARCADEN” SHOPPING CENTER

12/18/2019

Another center for the ECE Fund II portfolio: The ECE European Prime Shopping Center Fund II has acquired the Erlangen Arcaden shopping center from a fund managed by Nuveen Real Estate and insurance company CNP Assurances. ECE has operated the Erlangen Arcaden shopping center since July 2019 on behalf of the previous owner and will continue to be responsible for management and leasing of the center in the future as well. As a result, the portfolio of the second ECE fund now comprises ten shopping centers in Germany, Poland, Hungary and Italy with a market value of 1.5 billion euros.

“With the acquisition of the Erlangen Arcaden shopping center, our second fund is now almost completely invested. Thus, we are consistently continuing our investment approach that, in which we focus on dominant shopping centers in excellent locations because in our estimation these will be among the winners of the current structural change in the retail sector”, says Dr. Volker Kraft, Managing Director of ECE Real Estate Partners, which manages a portfolio of three funds with around 4.7 billion euros and is Europe’s leading institutional fund management company with a focus on shopping centers.

Carl White, Director of Fund Management for Nuveen Real Estate, commented: “This sale represents a strong outcome for our investors, coming at the end of a successful refurbishment and comprehensive re-leasing strategy where we were able to increase net operating income (NOI) and complete our business plan. We look forward to continuing our relationship with ECE as a minority owner of the shopping centre, which has a demonstrable track record of performance as it moves into the next stage of its life cycle.”

Erlangen Arcaden, which opened in 2007, has around 90 stores with a total sales area of around 30,000 m² and is located directly next to the train station and the pedestrian zone in downtown Erlangen, a city with a strong economy and 110,000 residents located in the German state of Bavaria. In its catchment area, which has about 400,000 inhabitants, the center has a strong market position and is visited by around 10 million people each year. Its anchor tenants include Saturn, Thalia and tegut. The Erlangen Arcaden shopping center was completely refurbished in 2017/18 and thanks to the addition of new concepts and the expansion of its dining options it offers even greater upside potential.