German pension fund Bayerische Versorgungskammer (BVK) has emerged as the frontrunner to buy Liffey Valley, one of Ireland’s best-known shopping centres.
The purchase would be BVK’s first investment in the country.
Hines, HSBC Alternative Investments and Grosvenor put the 520,000 sq ft Dublin mall up for sale in July for €600m (£501.4m), but it is understood that a deal for closer to €540m is being agreed.
Hines owns a 72.8% stake in the centre, which it bought from Aviva in 2014 for €250m. It also acts as asset manager.
BVK instructed Hines to invest €1.3bn in European high street retail property at the beginning of this year, as well as awarding the fund manager a separate account mandate targeting prime assets.
If the deal goes ahead, Hines will have the option to retain its position as asset manager on the mall.
Hines was originally instructed alongside Universal-Investment to focus on core assets, assets with uplift potential and development opportunities across 20 European markets.
So far the mandate has yielded four investments, including a retail block on Buchanan Street in Glasgow for £38m from Hermes Investment Management and retail blocks in Milan, Italy, and Oslo, Norway.
Liffey Valley is one of Ireland’s leading regional shopping centres, with more than 60 shops, four restaurants and a 2,500-seat Vue cinema. The mall also includes 17.3 acres of adjacent development land.
The deal would be the second largest shopping centre deal of the year, following Blackstone’s €950m purchase of Dublin’s Blanchardstown Centre in April from Green Property.
The Irish commercial property investment market has remained buoyant in the wake of the UK’s decision to leave the European Union, according to CBRE, with almost €3.2bn (£2.8bn) of €1m-plus investment sales over the past nine months.
The firm recorded a total of 159 investment deals, with 40 signing in the past three months.
• To send feedback, email amber.rolt@estatesgazette.com or tweet @amberrolt or @estatesgazette
