Union Investment will spend €69.7m on the extension of a Belgian shopping centre owned by its open-ended fund UniImmo:Europa.
The extension of 17,820 m2 Les Grands Prés mall, in the city of Mons, will be undertaken by Foruminvest BV/City Mall and will add a further 8,649 m2 of retail surface. The new space is due for inauguration at the end of 2014.
A new 34,000 m2 IKEA store will also soon be connected to the mall.
Union Investment said in a note that the expansion and the restructuring of the complex will generate extra rental income of around €4.5m per year.
“The arrival of IKEA and extension of the shopping centre will reinforce the position of Les Grands Prés in the wider region for the long term,” said Frank Billand, a member of Union Investment Real Estate’s management board.
Les Grands Prés opened in 2003 and was bought by UniImmo in 2004.
