Union Investment acquires majority in Palladium Prague

The largest property deal ever recorded in the Czech Republic: Union Investment obtaining a majority share in the Palladium center in Prague.

The transaction was based on a property value of around €570m.  Union Investment received advice on the transaction from CBRE.  A loan facility with Helaba and Baern LB supported the deal, with Helaba acting as the agent and arranger.

The center was completed during October 2007 and offers a gross floor area of 115000m², including 18000sqm of office space and 41000sqm of retail space.  The Palladium, which is almost fully leased, is Prague central retail district’s largest center.

The center is located on Namesti Republiky square, where there are direct links to the main shopping section and parking for 860 cars.  It is a unique development, which integrates with the protected historic buildings within the area.  It attracted around 15.8m visitors during 2014 from beyond its local area.  Some of the mix of tenants includes anchors Marks & Spencer, C&A, Samsung, Esprit and H&M, along with CBRE and Bohringer in the office area.
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Hannover Leasing of Pullach, Germany, represented the vendor and acted as asset and investment manager.  The vendor company will retain an interest and a minority shareholding within the property company.  Hannover Leasing has signed an asset management agreement.

After the acquisition of Palladium, Union Investment now holds around 41 European shopping centers within its portfolio, with an overall value of around €6.45bn.