Press Release -Lisbon, February 5th 2007
A €32 million investment, in partnership (50%/50%) with GREP Fund
Sonae Sierra acquires shopping centres in the cities of Albufeira and Portimão
Sonae Sierra has just acquired, for €32 million, in partnership (50%/50%) with GREP, a fund managed by Grosvenor, Shopping Centre Modelo de Albufeira and Shopping Centre Continente de Portimão, which were owned by Modelo Continente, SGPS. With these acquisitions, Sonae Sierra, the leading company in Portugal in the shopping and leisure centre business, has also reinforced its position in the region of Algarve, Portugal, where it already owned AlgarveShopping, located in the Guia area.
Besides the investment in the acquisition of the entire capital of these two shopping centres - €12,3 million for SC Modelo de Albufeira and €19,7 milion for SC Continente de Portimão - the partnership between Sonae Sierra and GREP Fund aims to invest a further €14 million in the refurbishing of the two units, so that they can comply with the high standards of architectural and environmental quality set by Sonae Sierra for all its shopping and leisure centres. Sonae Sierra was the first company in the sector to obtain, at a worldwide level, the ISO 14001 standard certification for its environmental management system.
We further highlight that Shopping Centre Modelo de Albufeira, located in the centre of the city and inaugurated in August 1989, has a Gross Lettable Area (GLA) of 10.471 m2, in three levels, and a total of 43 shops, including a Modelo Hypermarket and brands such as Worten, Modalfa and SportZone.
Shopping Centre Continente de Portimão, in its turn, opened to the public in August 1990, and has seen its first two levels deeply refurbished in the beginning of 1998, with the introduction of a restaurant area and a cinema complex.
Located by the main access road to the city of Portimão, this shopping centre has four levels, 13.492 m2 of GLA, and a total of 60 shops, including a Continente Hypermarket, six Castelo Lopes cinemas and 11 restaurants.
Both centres also have parking areas, with 562 spaces in Albufeira and about 800 spaces in Portimão.
Sonae Sierra, www.sonaesierra.com, is an international shopping centre specialist, with a passion for bringing innovation and excitement to the shopping and leisure centre industry. The Company owns or co-owns 41 Shopping Centres in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany, Greece and Brazil, with a total Gross Lettable Area (GLA) of more than 1,6 million m2. Currently, Sonae Sierra is developing 14 more projects in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany, Greece and Brazil, with a total GLA of more than 500.000 m2. In 2005, its centres welcomed more than 400 million visits.