First closing sees ECE raise more than €500m for new Shopping Center Fund

ECE European Prime Shopping Center Fund II has had a massive start in that its first closing raised more than €500m.

Investors, along with the Otto family and the employees of ECE, include a number of international institutional investors, such as sovereign wealth and top pension funds.

Along with a number of existing Fund I investors, ECE secured commitments from a range of new strategic partners for Fund II.  The total target for the Fund is set at €750m which will be equal to a gross asset value of around €2bn.

The same investment strategy will be held as for ECE Fund I, with a focus on the acquisition of existing European shopping centers which have value-added potential.

The first property that has been secured for ECE Fund II is the Zielone Arkady in Bydgoszcz, Poland, which is currently being developed by ECE.  The acquisition will occur after the center’s grand opening during 2015.  The second fund’s final closing is scheduled for 2015, with the investment period lasting until 2018.

The managing director of ECE Real Estate Partners, Ruediger Cornehl, said there is a continued string of investment opportunities available in their target markets, which include Turkey, Spain, Italy, Scandinavia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Austria and Germany, by means of extensions, refurbishments or optimization of the tenant and branch mix.

The support and commitments from investors in North America, Asia and Europe have given ECE the opportunity to become the leading fund manager within Europe, in the shopping center market.