German fund Union Investment has just announced the acquisition of Continente hypermarket in Centro Comercial Colombo, in Lisbon, operated by Sonae MC.
With a total of 23,445 square metres and one of the largest in the country, the hypermarket will be managed by Sonae Sierra, according to Union Investment.
It is the fund's first investment in a retail asset in Portugal. For Laura Roll, Investment Manager at Union Investment, this deal is "a great opportunity to diversify the portfolio of assets in Iberia in the future".
Roman Müller, Senior Investment Manager of the German fund, states that "with the acquisition of Continente do Colombo we combine two of the main focuses of our retail strategy, namely food retail and top shopping centres". He assures that "we will continue to selectively expand our portfolio in these two areas".
In this deal, Union Investment was accompanied by Linklaters, C&W and Sonae Sierra. According to the same statement, Jamestown Europe GmbH acted on behalf of the seller, a Luxembourg pension fund, and was advised by Garrigues and Arcadis.
This opportunity was presented off-market by C&W to Union Investment and the consultant was involved in the transaction from due-diligence to completion. Tiago Pereira, Senior Advisor in Cushman & Wakefield's Investment Department, comments that "the acquisition of Continente Colombo allows Union Investment to continue its strategy of diversifying its real estate portfolio in Iberia. We are very pleased to have helped this investor to enter the retail sector in Portugal".
