Through its subsidiary NEPI Rockcastle has acquired the Arena Plaza shopping centre in Budapest from Symmetry Arena Ingatlankezelő Kft. The aggregate purchase price paid for the transaction was €275 million, resulting in an acquisition yield of approximately 6.2%.
With a gross lettable area of 66,000 sqm Arena Plaza is the second largest retail centre in Budapest. Located in the eastern part of the city, close to the country’s main international railway station, the shopping mall was opened in November 2007 and has since grown its annual footfall to more than 10 million people. The shopping centre is fully let to major national and international tenants such as Bershka, H&M, IMAX Cinema City, KFC, Massimo Dutti, McDonalds, Media Markt, New Yorker, Peek & Cloppenburg, Pull & Bear, Sports Direct, Starbucks, Stradivarius, Tesco and Zara.
Several envisaged asset management initiatives, including major improvements to the leisure and entertainment offering, the introduction of new international tenants and a major refurbishment, will further strengthen its dominant market position, according to the company’s release on the JSE website.
NEPI Rockcastle is the largest listed retail centre owner in CEE and this acquisition, in the fourth largest CEE economy, completes the company’s entry into the eight largest markets in the region
