The seven shopping centers, with a total GLA of 80,000 sq m, are part of the Spark-portfolio which was recently acquired by HMC on behalf of the Harbert European Real Estate Fund V as part of its mixed-use portfolio. The assets are located in Utrecht (Groeneweg), Heiloo (‘t Loo), Breda (Heksenwiel), Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel (Reigerhof), Hengelo (Hasselo), Landgraaf (Op de Kamp) and Den Bosch (Maaspoort).
The shopping centers are anchored by major supermarket chains (e.g., Albert Heijn, Jumbo, Lidl, Aldi, Nettorama) and strong convenience operators (e.g., Hema, Kruidvat, Etos, Zeeman and Blokker). They are well positioned within their respective areas and play a pivotal role in meeting the daily needs of their local communities.
Multi will be responsible for the day-to-day management and operational management of the assets including leasing. They will also act as a partner to HMC in realizing their value creation ambitions for this portfolio through pro-active property management and future-proofing the assets positioning with refurbishment and re-development opportunities.
“Multi is a strong believer in the future of convenience centers due to their essential role in daily life evidenced by their relatively robust performance during the COVID-crisis. However, the Dutch retail landscape is constantly changing with customers demanding an ever-better experience, even on a daily basis and we at Multi are excited to deliver on this expectation,” says Anne Willemsen, Senior Asset Manager, Multi Netherlands & Belgium.
“We at Multi are dedicated to meeting and exceeding customers’ expectations when it comes to retail real estate and are privileged to manage the Spark-portfolio. Thanks to our strong track record of developing and managing shopping centers in the Netherlands, we are confident that–together with HMC–the full potential of the Spark-portfolio will be realized,” adds Hubert Stech, Managing Director, Multi BeNeLux & Germany.
