The property was purchased for a total €169.5 million. An additional EUR1.5 million will be paid to Carpathian upon the successful recovery of Value Added Tax. Atrium will finance the acquisition through a mixture of equity and debt.

Promenada, the number four shopping center in Poland’s capital, is a prime supermarket anchored retail property based in the Praga Poùudnie district. Added to Atrium’s Reduta and Targowek shopping centers, its acquisition increases Atrium’s exposure to the tier one Warsaw market and brings the Company’s total number of income producing assets in Poland to 19.

Promenada has a total gross lettable area of 53,840 m², comprising 41,778 m² of retail across three floors below 12,062 m² of offices. The center has an occupancy level of 93.99% by GLA. Promenada is anchored by a 4,030 m² Alma supermarket and a 6,600 m² Cinema-City. They are joined by a number of other strong international and Polish retail brands including Agent Provocateur, Bennetton, LaCoste, Electroworld, H&M, Zara, Go Sport, Empik, Kappahl, Esprit and Reserved.

Originally opened in 1996, Promenada is located on Ostrobramska Street, it is the only major shopping center north of the Vistula River in Warsaw.

Rachel Lavine, CEO of Atrium European Real Estate, said, “Today’s acquisition is an important one for Atrium. It follows a period where we have worked hard to stabilise Atrium and marks the start of the next phase in our strategy for the Company by building on the solid platform we have created in order to achieve growth. Promenada is a prominent, well-located asset situated in an affluent urban residential area in the capital city of Poland which houses strong tenants and provides good income. I am very excited by the acquisition and am looking forward to implementing a number of value enhancing asset management and development initiatives that we have already identified. I believe it will be an excellent complement to our Reduta and Targowek shopping centers in Warsaw and to our Polish portfolio as a whole.”

Richard Petersen, Managing Partner of Cushman & Wakefield in Warsaw, commented, “The acquisition of Promenada is a great success for Atrium and one of the most significant investment transactions on the Polish Retail market this year. It is very well established and one of the leading shopping center assets in the capital. We are very pleased to have been able to represent Atrium in this major transaction.”

The transaction is subject to the fulfillment of certain conditions precedent which are expected to be finalized in Q1 2011.

Source: Cushman & Wakefield