Foncière Euris

Shopping and leisure in the centre of Berlin

Sonae Imobiliária and Foncière Euris sign joint venture contract upon project development and ownership

Sonae Imobiliária and Foncière Euris, together with its subsidiary Rallye, signed a jointventure contract that creates a partnership for the shopping and leisure centre project that Sonae Imobiliária has under licensing in Alexanderplatz, Berlin.

The joint-venture seals the alliance for project development and defines the ownership structure  of  the  shopping  and  leisure  centre  located  between  Alexander,  Gruner-and Dircksenstrasse. The investment volume for this project amounts to 290 million euros, and after  completion,  the  property  management  will  be  done  by  Sonae  Imobiliária.  SG Corporate & Investment Banking (SG CIB), part of Societé Generale Groupe, acted in this agreement as advisor to Sonae Imobiliária.

The alliance with Foncière Euris supports the sustainable development of the centre. "We are pursuing a long-term strategy in every respect", said Álvaro Portela, CEO of Sonae Imobiliária. "By forming partnerships, we are able to invest in large-scale projects. Thus, we can pursue our ambitious expansion plans and protect our projects in the long run."

"We are very happy to be able to establish ourselves in Germany thanks to our partnership with  Sonae  Imobiliária",  said  Pierre  Férraud,  CEO  of  Foncière  Euris. "We  are  thus continuing our efforts in the development of shopping and leisure centers together with the leading operators in the sector, with financial security provided by Foncière Euris, while contributing to their valorization work."

This partnership agreement is subject to clearance by the competent authorities of merger control.

At  the end of last month, Sonae Imobiliária applied for a building permit for the shoppingand leisure centre. The large-scale project encompasses three legally separate construction units. The heart of the project is a shopping- and leisure centre for approximately 200 tenants with 80,000 square meters GBA as well as a public area of 2,500 square meters. The Centre consists of five stories with 42,000 square meters GLA for retail trade, 2,000 square meters for  gastronomy  / service  as well as  9.000 square meters for leisure / entertainment.

In addition there are two underground parking facilities with approximately 1,600 parking spaces.

Also planned is a 150m-high office tower with a 42,000 square meters GBA, for which a developer  is  still  being  sought.  To  the  south  of  this  area  the  joint-venture  partner DEGEWO/GEWOBE   Wohnungswirtschaftliche   Beteiligungsgesellschaft   mbH   is developing a residential, business and office complex with a 65m-high tower and 42,000 square meters GBA. The start of construction work is expected this year, the opening is planned for autumn 2006.

Sonae Imobiliária - www.sonaeimobiliaria.com 

Sonae Imobiliária is a European company, incorporated in 1989. The company strategic shareholders are Sonae, SGPS  (Portugal) with  67.04% and Grosvenor  (United Kingdom) with  32.96%. Sonae Imobiliária invests, develops and manages shopping- and leisure centres in Europe and Brazil. The company's portfolio includes 29 shopping centres and one retail park with more than 1.2 million square meters GLA. In Portugal, Spain, Italy and Brazil the company manages more than 1.5 million square meters GLA with more than 5.300 tenants.

In 2003 Sonae Imobiliária Shopping Centers in Portugal, Spain and Brazil had more than 382 million visits. At the present time Sonae Imobiliária has 14 major projects under development in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany, Greece and Brazil with a total GLA of 484.000 m2.

Foncière Euris S.A.

Foncière Euris is a French listed company specialising in the development of shopping and leisure centres in Europe. It forms alliances with top-quality developers to invest in major projects that help to animate city communities. Work in progress includes the Carré de Soie development project in the Lyons area, the Paris-based Beaugrenelle shopping centre and the Manufaktura programme in Lodz, Poland's second largest city.

Foncière Euris is a subsidiary of the Euris Group, controlled by Jean-Charles Naouri. Foncière Euris also controls the Casino Group, France's second largest listed retail chain.

Press Contact:

Sonae Imobiliária - Silvia Peschke Tel: +49 - 211 - 436 16 201 Fax: +49 - 211 - 436 16 202 E-mail: s.peschke@sonaewest.de 

Foncière Euris - Estelle Guillot Tel : +33 1 53 70 74 93

E-mail : egt@image7.fr