IMMOFINANZ is systematically expanding its leading role as the largest retail park operator in Europe as part of its growth strategy. The number of STOP SHOPs will be increased by around 40% to 140 locations by 2024 through selective acquisitions and new openings. The focus is also on Italy, where ten new STOP SHOP retail parks will be opened by 2024. With the acquisition of a retail park in Udine, IMMOFINANZ has now taken another important step in opening up the Italian growth market.
After successfully entering the market in the second half of 2021, IMMOFINANZ is acquiring another high-quality retail park in north-east Italy from a London-based private equity firm. The Retail Park Terminal Nord in Udine has a rentable area of around 33,000 m² with a total of 36 shops, making it the largest retail park in the STOP SHOP portfolio to date. The expected annual rental income is around EUR 5.6 million.
“Our STOP SHOPs are an optimal combination of local amenities, shopping pleasure and lifestyle. They have proven to be extremely crisis-resistant during the Covid-19 pandemic and are popular with tenants and customers alike. For us, it is therefore the right time to open up further markets with this convincing and successful platform. As one of the largest European countries, the Italian market offers great potential for this”, comments Dietmar Reindl, CEO of IMMOFINANZ, on the most recent acquisition in Italy.
Varied tenant mix on more than 33,000 m²
The future STOP SHOP Udine is located in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region in an extremely convenient location. The property is located directly on the main street of Udine leading to the centre and is also easily accessible by public transport. The catchment area includes around 300,000 people within a 30-minute drive.
The retail park was opened in 2008 and impresses with its range of national and international tenants. With a share of 30% of the rentable space, the Carrefour wholesale market is one of the anchor tenants from the food trade. Tenants such as Decathlon and Euronics have also proven to be extremely popular, attracting almost 1.6 million visitors from January to October 2021. Other tenants include Burger King, Douglas and Takko, as well as Italian brands such as Globo (fashion) and Dondi Salotti (furniture). The remaining term of the rental agreements (WAULT) is 7.7 years.
Green technologies as a key criterion
IMMOFINANZ relies on high sustainability standards in the construction and operation of its retail parks. A core element of the net zero emissions strategy is to promote the in-house production of renewable energies, for example by installing photovoltaic systems on the roofs of the STOP SHOP retail parks and by implementing new locations exclusively with photovoltaic systems. In the case of the property now acquired in Udine, it was also ensured that the installation of photovoltaic systems on the roof and thus the conversion to renewable energy sources is possible. This will be implemented in the short term. Further activities such as the expansion of e-charging stations or resource-saving water and waste management are to be implemented at the new location in line with the group-wide measures.
High-yield and crisis-resistant asset class
With 100 STOP SHOP retail parks in ten European countries, IMMOFINANZ is one of the leading local suppliers. The retail parks are characterized by a wide range of goods at an attractive price-performance ratio. The asset class has also proven to be crisis-proof and, thanks to strong demand, has generated excellent returns. As part of the growth strategy, IMMOFINANZ plans to expand its STOP SHOP locations to 140 by 2024. Italy is one of the focus countries in which the company sees particularly large growth potential. By 2024, around EUR 250 million is to be invested in the purchase of existing retail parks and the construction of new ones, thereby building up an Italian STOP SHOP portfolio of at least ten locations. As of September 30, 2021, the STOP SHOPs in the portfolio had an occupancy rate of 99.0% and a yield based on the rent specification of 8.1%. The STOP SHOP portfolio of IMMOFINANZ, including the most recent acquisition, comprises 100 retail parks (existing properties) in ten countries: Slovakia (16 STOP SHOPs), Slovenia (14), Hungary (14), Serbia (14), Austria (13), Czech Republic (12), Poland (10), Croatia (4), Italy (2) and Romania (1).
