29 May 2015

M&G Real Estate pays €52m for German retail park

Simon Ellis, M&GM&G Real Estate, the real estate fund management arm of Prudential's M&G Investments, has bought a 23,000 sq m retail park in Dreieich, Germany, for €51.9m ($56.6m) from TIAA Henderson Real Estate (TH Real Estate).

The M&G acquisition -- Dreieich Nordpark, which attracts about 2.5 million people each year -- is part of its core European property strategy.

Simon Ellis, one of the managers of the strategy at M&G said, "With economic growth gaining momentum and the European Central Bank's quantitative easing programme lending further support to the economy and the real estate markets, we see a very positive environment for continued investment.  Prime assets and prices are likely to continue to strengthen."

Carl White, fund manager at TH Real Estate, said he was pleased "we have been able to dispose of the investment at an optimum time in the market cycle."

The main draws at Nordpark, about 10km south of Frankfurt, are the hypermarket Real and Decathlon, which claims to be the biggest sports retailer in the world.