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Johannesburg - Hystead, a UK company co-owned by Hyprop Investments and PDI Investment Holdings, has acquired the Skopje City Mall in the Macedonian capital of Skopje.
It was purchased from Balfin Finance BV, Amsterdam, for a total purchase consideration of €92m.
Skopje City Mall is the dominant mall in Skopje and the largest in the country. Skopje has a population of approximately 534 000 people. The mall offers 37 600m² of retail gross leasable area (GLA) and 131 tenants including Zara, Terranova, Koton, LC Waikiki, Bershka, New Yorker and Fashion & Friends.
Pieter Prinsloo, Hyprop CEO says its objective is to own a high quality shopping centre portfolio in South-Eastern Europe.
"Macedonia is a small, open economy, which has taken great strides to strengthen its economy over the last decade. The World Bank estimates Macedonia’s real gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 3.3% for 2017. Skopje City Mall’s high occupancy, promising footfall, balanced tenant mix and expansion opportunities ensure that it is an attractive investment," said Prinsloo.
"The mall’s current management team will remain to ensure the retention of critical skills. Our expectation is that the investment will enhance Hyprop’s income distributions.”
Hyprop’s South-Eastern Europe strategy is to acquire dominant shopping centres through Hystead. Hyprop has a 60% interest in Hystead and PDI, a company presented by Louis Norval, has the remaining 40%.
Hystead now owns three properties in South-Eastern Europe, namely Delta City Podgorica in Montenegro, Delta City Belgrade in Serbia) - both purchased earlier this year - and now the Skopje City Mall in Macedonia.
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