The information is on Merlin's website, which confirms the intent of the deal announced later this year.
Opened in 2002, the Almada Forum has a GLA of ca. 82,000 m², of which 22,000 m² relate to a Jumbo hypermarket, in addition to 5,500 parking spaces.
According to Merlin, this is "the shopping center and leading leisure destination on the south side of Tejo River, receiving more than 14.4 million visitors per year". With a gross revenue per year of around €24 million, this asset "offers potential for future revenue growth through management improvements or variable rents," considers Merlin.
Ismael Clemente, CEO of Merlin Properties, comments that "Almada Forum is an example of an exception asset, hardly found on the market. A quality shopping center is the favorite retail option of the Portuguese people. Despite the competition of online commerce, the format continues to grow in a sustained way in the Iberian Peninsula, and we believe in its future through transformation and adaptation in a context of constant change in the retail market.”
Elmar Schoonbrood, Managing Director, Real Estate, at Blackstone, said in a statement that "the sale of Almada Forum is one more successful example of our strategy to buy and stabilize complex assets and portfolios. Through active management and the development of value-added initiatives, Blackstone has contributed to the improvement of tenant mix and consumer experience in the assets that comprise its portfolio."
JLL acted in this business on behalf of Blackstone. Fernando Ferreira, Head of Capital Markets at JLL Portugal, says that "Almada Forum is what is called in the market of «trophy asset», because it combines rare conditions of location, size and performance. Comparable to the most important European shopping centers, the Almada Forum attracted a large number of international investors, strengthening confidence in the Portuguese market”.
The teams of Real Estate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions and Fiscal of Garrigues, led by Jorge Gonçalves, Mário Lino Dias, Tiago Cassiano Neves and Miguel Menezes da Silva, advised Merlin Properties in the deal.
The Almada Forum is part of a portfolio of 4 commercial assets that Blackstone has placed on the market. The remaining three, namely Forum Montijo, Forum Sintra and Sintra Retail Park, were acquired by Immochan for an estimated value of around €400 million. The US giant therefore fulfills its estimate to gain €750 million to €900 million with the sale of this portfolio.
Since the beginning of the year, have already been invested more than €1,000 million in the purchase of shopping centers in Portugal, a record value for the Portuguese market.
