EfTEN Real Estate Fund news
EfTEN acquires Saules Miestas Shopping Centre in Šiauliai from E.L.L. Kinnisvara
E.L.L. Kinnisvara, the leading Baltic real estate developer, has sold its 100% owned subsidiary UAB Titvesta, owner of the Saules Miestas shopping centre, to EfTEN Real Estate Fund III AS. The parties have agreed to keep the price of the deal confidential. The Lithuanian shopping centre is the first investment for EfTEN Real Estate Fund III.
Fund manager Viljar Arakas from EfTEN Real Estate Fund III said that the Saules Miestas shopping centre had been on the investment horizon of EfTEN’s investment team for some time. “After the successful capital raising of EfTEN Real Estate Fund III, all that was left for us was to agree on the technical details with the seller, as we already knew the Šiauliai-based shopping centre. In a way it’s a good thing that our first investment went to the Lithuanian market, as that is the largest market in the investment area we target,” Arakas said.
“Under the professional management of E.L.L. Kinnisvara’s local team, the shopping centre has kept reinforcing its position as the most visited shopping centre in Šiauliai. We decided to sell the centre in order to focus more on the development activities according to our long-term strategy, and we are also conducting research on entering new markets. We are happy to have found a suitable and long-term new owner for Saules Miestas in EfTEN,” Taavi Ojala, member of the board of E.L.L. Kinnisvara commented.
E.L.L. Kinnisvara continues as a shareholder in the Spice and Spice Home shopping centres in Riga, Panorama in Vilnius and Viru Keskus in Tallinn; the company´s portfolio includes also Delta Plaza and Sõpruse Ärimaja office buildings in Tallinn as well as L3 in Vilnius . E.L.L. Kinnisvara also holds shareholdings in three hotels in Tallinn. The company has started development on the Narbuto 5 office building in Vilnius, and it is in the preparation stage for launching the extension of the Spice Home centre and the development of Spice and Skanstes office buildings in Riga.
The Saules Miestas shopping centre in central Šiauliai (http://saulesmiestas.lt/en/) is visited by 7.35 million customers annually, and last year’s net revenue was 31 million EUR. The centre offers a great choice of goods, services and entertainment: it has 110 stores and close to 10 eating places, and Sun Terrace on the roof is visited by almost half a million people each summer. The centre, opened in 2007, is the first one in Lithuania to house an integrated downtown bus terminal. Of the almost 800 parking places in the centre, the majority is located in the parking house. The gross area of the centre amounts to 50,000 m² with the parking floors, there is approximately 20,000 m² of sales area and the main tenants include Rimi, New Yorker, Sportland, Reserved, Takko Fashion, Deichmann, House, Cropp town, Euronics and Monton.