Le mie ricette per la real estate communityHenderson Park , the pan-European private equity real estate platform, announces that it has acquired Rathaus Galerie, a shopping centre located in the city centre of Essen, Germany. The transaction is being undertaken in joint venture with HBB, a leading German real estate developer and operator who will manage the asset, with Henderson Park as the majority partner.
Rathaus Galerie is a 31,000 sqm freehold shopping centre in a prime location in the centre of Essen. The asset acts as the main entry point for Essen’s city hall and sits directly above Rathaus Essen Station, the city’s central transport hub, providing access to six metro and tram lines, as well as 13 bus lines, with 40,000 passengers passing through on a daily basis. The prominent building, which forms a bridge across the eastern city ring road, also has generous parking provisions to complement the centre’s strong connectivity.
The shopping centre has been acquired c. 80% let, with anchor tenants including national hypermarket Real and global sports retailer Decathlon. With a 40 year track record of trading and footfall of over 10 million visitors per annum, the Rathaus Galerie presents exceptional repositioning potential following a targeted investment programme to maximise its value, resilience and consumer appeal. The joint venture’s turnaround strategy includes a comprehensive refurbishment, improving the tenant mix to concentrate on convenience retail which best caters to the asset’s high number of local workers and commuters, as well as an enhanced F&B and leisure component.
Essen is Germany’s ninth largest city and home to many of its largest corporations. The city has strong demographic fundamentals and is a thriving student destination, with a growing population projected to increase by 3.4% by 2030. The Rathaus Galerie is located in a densely populated catchment area of North Rhine-Westphalia, with 11 million people within one hour’s drive.
This transaction represents the second investment by Henderson Park in Germany and its first shopping centre acquisition, facilitated through the establishment of its new joint venture with HBB. The platform established by this joint venture creates a framework with the potential to expand further into the German real estate market, which continues to attract some of Europe’s strongest investment flows.
Source : Joint release