Ares Management Corporation, a leading global alternative investment manager, and Slate Asset Management, a global investor and manager focused on essential real estate and infrastructure, announced that a joint venture between Ares Real Estate funds and Slate has agreed to acquire a portfolio of 36 properties in Poland from Trei Real Estate, an internationally active developer and asset manager. The portfolio is valued at over €300 million.
The portfolio comprises 36 recently developed and fully occupied convenience-led retail parks strategically located across major Polish metropolitan areas near large catchment populations. The assets are inflation-protected through CPI-linked lease agreements underpinned by tenants with strong covenants. Most of the portfolio’s income is derived from large regional retailers and essential goods providers, including grocers and pharmacies.
“This transaction underlines our conviction in Polish real estate and the broader European retail sector, both of which are areas in which Ares has been investing for over two decades,” said Kevin Cahill, Partner and Head of European Diversified Investments in the Ares Real Estate Group. “We believe the portfolio presents significant opportunities for additional value creation, and we look forward to working closely with Slate to unlock its full potential.”
“This portfolio of modern, high-quality properties is a natural fit for our income-focused essential real estate strategy, which specifically targets convenience and necessity-based retail and other mission-critical real estate across Europe,” said Sven Vollenbruch, Managing Director at Slate. “After years of studying the Polish market and underwriting essential real estate transactions, this acquisition presented the right opportunity to enter Poland and add a valuable new spoke to our growing Pan-European platform.”
Pepijn Morshuis, CEO of Trei Real Estate, added: “We are big believers in the further growth of retail parks and convenience retail in Poland. With ownership of Trei increasingly focusing on the USA, however, in Ares and Slate we found good and trusted new owners of our beloved Vendo Parks, enabling us to pursue other opportunities in the far west.”
Ares Real Estate is one of the world’s most scaled and diversified vertically integrated real estate managers, having grown organically and through the acquisitions of GCP International, Black Creek Group and Walton Street Mexico. Today, Ares Real Estate has more than 740 team members globally and manages a portfolio representing more than 720 million square feet. Ares Real Estate had $108.7 billion of assets under management, as of June 30, 2025.
Slate has been an active investor in the European real estate market since 2016, transacting on more than 1,000 commercial properties across nine countries. In 2025 alone, Slate has completed over €1 billion of essential real estate acquisitions across Europe. The firm maintains a distinct focus on essential real estate, concentrating on the acquisition, ownership, and operation of assets vital to daily life, including grocery stores, necessity-based retail centres, and the logistics infrastructure that supports the distribution of food and other non-discretionary goods. This acquisition marks Slate’s first investment in Poland and further increases the firm’s exposure to high-quality essential real estate in Europe.
The transaction is expected to close by December 31st, 2025, subject to customary and regulatory approvals. Rymarz Zdort Maruta, CBRE, PwC, and Gleeds advised Ares and Slate.
