Merlin Properties has acquired 100% of the Marineda City shopping centre in A Coruña, after buying the remaining percentage that was still missing in its portfolio and which it completes with the acquisition of the commercial space of El Corte Inglés. The transaction will allow the real estate company to expand its presence in Galicia and northwest Spain.
Marineda City is the largest shopping centre in Galicia in terms of gross leasable area (GLA) and is among the leading shopping centres in Spain. With 45,000 square metres of retail space and three underground parking levels, the centre has more than 200 shops, including some of the leading national and international brands such as Primark, Inditex and Leroy Merlin, among others.
Merlin Properties has plans for a comprehensive refurbishment of the shopping centre and car park, which will convert the El Corte Inglés department store into an extension of the shopping centre. The aim is to create a fully integrated and united shopping complex, including the creation of new meeting and socialising spaces, improved flows between floors and vertical connections to ensure better permeability, as well as the creation of new retail space and the entry of major national and international operators.
The company has also announced that it will study the revitalisation of the outdoor plaza and that it will give special importance to sustainability in Marineda City, in line with the investments it has already made in recent years.
Arnaud Leroy, asset manager of the company, explains that "for Merlin this operation represents a unique opportunity to expand and improve the offer of Marineda City with the arrival of new brands and to create a new destination for socialisation and experience in a centre that, today, is already a reference in its area of influence and that, with this expansion, we are sure that it will be even more so".
"Shopping centres in general, and Marineda City in particular, have demonstrated their resilience in recent years. We see how physical retail continues to be the first choice of customers and we believe that, with the transformation that Marineda City will undergo, the creation of experiential spaces and the arrival of new top brands, we will be able to respond to the new needs of customers", said the executive.
Marineda City is one of the main commercial and tourist destinations in Galicia, with an average of 17 million visitors each year. The acquisition of 100% of the shopping centre will allow Merlin Properties to expand its presence in the retail sector and strengthen its position in the Spanish real estate market.
