SES Spar European Shopping Centers has purchased the il grifone shopping center in Bassano del Grappa, northern Italy.
The seller is a fund of MCAP Global Finance (UK) LLP, the European branch of Marathon Asset Management LP (‘Marathon’) headquartered in New York, USA.
The center in the Vicenza/Veneto, region, which opened in 2009, boasts over 20,000 square meters of gross leasable area, 7,000 of which already belonged to the SPAR Group (ASPIAG Italy) prior to the takeover. This latest addition takes the SES portfolio to 31 locations. Three of these are large Italian shopping malls.
Fully-let il grifone
The fully-let facility comprises 47 shops, including flagship tenants INTERSPAR, Media World, H&M, Cisalfa, Pittarosso, as well as a stand-alone McDonalds.
Marcus Wild, SPAR Real Estate Board Member and SES Board Chairperson, says, “Il grifone is a prime location with considerable scope for development in an affluent region. As proprietor, SES has just what it takes to make this mall reach its full potential and network more closely with the city and surrounding area — a major opportunity for all concerned.”
Christoph Andexlinger, CEO, SES Spar European Shopping Centers, says, “With il grifone, we are expanding our portfolio to include a well-established mall. We are doing all we can alongside the local team to project this prime location into the future. We obviously want to further develop the experience-oriented dimension and enhance the quality of stay in the mid-term. Il grifone is a perfect fit for us and the ideal complement to our two Italian shopping centers IperCity and le Brentelle in Padua.”
SES received legal advice from Cerha Hempel and Gattai Minoli & Partners. On the seller side, BNP Paribas acted as a broker and Legance as the lawyer. CBRE previously looked after property and center management.
From September onwards, the new proprietor is SES Spar European Shopping Centers GmbH with SES Italy responsible for managing the venue.
With the purchase of il grifone, SES is expanding its portfolio to include a total of 31 large-scale locations including three Italian malls covering 68,000 square meters SES Italy also operates several smaller-scale local shopping centers in the Triveneto area.
