Atrium European Real Estate sold a portfolio of 72 retail assets in the Czech Republic to a private investor. Peakside Capital acted on behalf of the buyer. The transaction, worth €70m, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2015. The agreement includes a €61m cash payment, with the balance satisfied through a secured vendor loan to the purchaser. The portfolio includes 72 small-format retail properties, averaging 2,500 sqm, across the Czech Republic, leased to Ahold as anchor tenant. The total leasable area is 177,000 sqm.
Atrium wants to focus on large-scale, well-established shopping centers on its core markets. The developer and operator of shopping centers recently closed two acquisitions: AFI Palác Pardubice in the Czech Republic and Focus Mall in Bydgoszcz, Poland. It is reportedly working on a third acquisition: the majority share in the Arkády shopping center in Prague-Pankrác. Atrium’s Czech portfolio currently includes 22 properties.
