Almada Forum shopping centre sold for €406 million

Spanish property group Merlin Properties has announced the purchase of Almada Forum shopping centre near Lisbon for over €400 million.

The shopping centre, which enjoys annual revenues of €24 million, was purchased for €406.7 million from US property and asset fund manager Blackstone.

The Spanish company’s intention to buy the shopping centre from Blackstone was announced at the beginning of the year but now the deal has gone through.

Almada Forum opened in 2002 as the third largest shopping centre in Portugal and one of the largest on the Iberian Peninsular. It is situated in the Vale de Mourelos, in the Almada municipality and serves Greater Lisbon residents living on the South bank of the Tagus River.

With a total area of 78,815m2, it has 262 shops, including 10 anchor stores and the large hypermarket Jumbo. Almada Fórum is distributed over three floors around a central area and includes a food court with 35 eateries.  It also has 5,500 parking spaces and NOS cinemas. 

According to Merlin Properties, Almada Forum  has a footfall of around 14.4 million visitors annually with potential for growth.  

The CEO of Merlin Properties, Ismael Clemente says that the asset is exceptional and despite competition from online sales, the shopping centre format continues to grow on the Iberian peninsular.

Marlin Properties has been a vigorous investor in Portugal attracted by the profitability of its quality real estate. Last year it bought properties owned by Novo Banco (formerly Banco Espírito Santo) in Lisbon’s Marquês de Pombal for €60.3 million and in April 2018 purchased a building in the city’s Parque das Nações for €33.3 million.