The EfTEN Real Estate Fund 5, has bought the UNA retail park at Dangeručio 1 in Vilnius, Lithuania.
It is the largest retail transaction in the Baltics this year. The seller is Baltic real estate developer and manager, VPH.
The 16,000 square meter UNA retail park, next to the Molėtai highway, was opened in summer 2023 and has 24 shops and outlets. The anchor tenants are DIY store Kesko Senukai and the Rimi supermarket. The retail park is energy efficient class A++.
The transaction was financed by the SEB bank. The price has not been disclosed.
EfTEN Real Estate Fund 5 is managed by EfTEN Capital, an Estonian investment management company.
Shopping centers show best results
Laurynas Žilys, head of EfTEN Capital Lietuva, says, “Over the last few years EfTEN has essentially made no larger transactions on the real estate market. As interest rates have increased, there have been no projects for sale at terms that are in line with EfTEN’s conservative investment principles.
“Now that EURIBOR is falling again, we are also becoming more active on the property market. In the post-COVID era an increasing number of people are preferring to work part-time from home. It also directs retail out of the city center and closer to residential districts. In the portfolio of various EfTEN funds, shopping centers in residential districts have shown the best results in recent years.
“With a brave decision to start developing UNA in the times of unprecedented geopolitical uncertainty, the development company VPH has done an excellent job in matching the needs of both nearby residents and the heavy passing traffic.”
UNA retail park is green building
Tadas Jonušauskas, Head of Corporate Banking Division at SEB Bank, says, “SEB Bank is contributing to sustainable investment in the retail sector by launching a successful cooperation and providing green financing for the UNA shopping centre. Over the last few years, we have seen a growing market demand for energy-efficient real estate buildings, reflecting the efforts of modern business to create long-term value, and we are ready to contribute to the sustainability transformation in real estate. We are seeing strong growth trends in the green loan portfolio in Lithuania — at the end of July 2024, the bank’s green loan portfolio was 83% higher than in the same period of the previous year, and we are delighted that this property in Vilnius also complements the portfolio of green buildings financed by our bank.”
Arturas Šukys, Partner of VPH, says, “Development and divestment of UNA Retail Park continues VPH’s strategy to develop high quality retail assets across the Baltic states. Being the pioneer of retail park development in the Baltic States, we highly believe that this class of assets is very safe and stable even if turbulence comes to the real estate market. It is our experience that it is highly appreciated by the shoppers because of its convenience and shopping comfort.”
The transaction was brokered by the the Newsec and FORT Legal represented EfTEN Capital. The seller VPH was legally advised by Ellex.
Management
Colliers Baltics team will manage UNA Retail Park. It also manages three other EfTEN Capital properties: business centres at Mėnulio g. 7 and Mėnulio g. 11, and Evolution business centre at Ukmergės street.
Evelina Rimkienė, Head of the Real Estate Management Department of Colliers Baltics in Lithuania, says, “We appreciate the client’s trust in us to hand over the fourth object. Providing landlord or tenant representation, investment advisory, real estate development and other services, we are very familiar with the needs of both parties, so we will use these competences to improve the efficiency of the facility and optimise the processes.”
