EPP announced the completion of its acquisition of the King Cross Marcelin Shopping Centre. The €91.1 million acquisition is EPP’s first entry into Poznan and brings the company’s portfolio to 19 retail projects.
“We’ve had our eye on Poznan because it stands out as one of the strongest consumer markets in the country,” said Hadley Dean, CEO of EPP. “Poland continues to prove itself an economic powerhouse in Europe, and even within that context, Poznan is remarkable.”
Poznan’s GDP is second only to Warsaw. Purchasing power per capita in the city is 37% higher than the rest of the country, and its unemployment rate is one of the lowest in the country at 1.5%.
The larger area around Poznan is the third most populous voivodship (province) in Poland. More than half a million people live in the city, while the larger Poznan Metropolitan Area is home to nearly 833,000 people.
King Cross Marcelin is the major shopping destination in western Poznan with an immediate catchment of over 202,000 people living within a 15 minutes’ drive, and directly adjacent to the property, the Business Garden Poznan business park is currently under construction which will attract an additional 12,000 people daily to the catchment area.
“While Poznan has several modern shopping centres, Marcelin is dominant in its catchment with great growth potential. The development of the Business Garden Office Park should increase the footfall in the centre by 10% once completed. This, combined with the extension opportunities, means EPP can unlock exceptional value from this project,” Dean said.
The 45,353 sqm centre is already 99% let to popular international and national retailers including Media Markt, H&M, Intersport, CCC and McDonald’s.
“The acquisition of King Cross Marcelin confirms continuous investors’ interest in well performing schemes, benefiting from established market position and location in Poland's major cities. The transaction also confirms healthy condition of the retail investment market in Poland. Based on our data, the total retail investment volume already exceeded €2 billion as at the end of July 2018, and by the end of this year we believe it is likely to exceed €3 billion”, comments Adam Kiernicki, Associate Director, Retail Investment CEE at JLL. Experts from JLL advised EPP on the transaction.
