Dutch investor Corio takes stake in Istanbul shopping centre fund while Germany’s CGI acquires complex in Izmir, showing faith in Turkey’s promise as a retail location
A Dutch and a German investor have made their debuts in the Turkish property market.
Dutch property company Corio has paid €148m for a 46.9% stake in local fund Akmerkez GYO, which owns the 180,000m2 Akmerkez shopping centre in Istanbul.
And German open-ended fund manager fund manager CGI has acquired the Bornova Center shopping complex in the provincial city of Izmir – Turkey’s third-largest city, with a population of 3.3 million – for its fund hausInvest-global vehicle at a price around €80m.
AM Development of the Netherlands was the vendor. It is AM’s first property development project in Turkey.
The net yield on Corio’s acquisition, whose tenants include Marks & Spencer and Starbucks, is around 6%. As part of the deal, Corio also acquired a 10% stake in the centre’s management company.
However, Dutch analyst firm Kempen said it has “mixed feelings” about the transaction. Analyst Harm Meier said: “We are not opposed to entering new markets and even agree that Turkey offers good growth prospects. But Corio does not have full control of the shopping centre and the lease income is in US dollars.”
AM Development is building CGI’s 50,000m² scheme, which also includes a multiplex cinema. Work will start this summer and is set to be completed in 2007.
According to Frank Pörschke, managing director of CGI: “Turkey ranks among the most promising retail locations worldwide.
“The average retail space for every 1,000 people equals 20m², compared to the European average of 200m² for every 1,000 people.”
