Sierra Portugal Fund sells LeiriaShopping for €128 million

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A fund managed by shopping centre giant Sonae Sierra has just completed the sale of LeiraShopping for €128 million.

The agreement was signed between Sierra Portugal Fund and LeiriaShopping. Sonae Sierra will continue, however, to manage and commercialise the units within the shopping centre.
According to a communiqué from Sonae Sierra, the operation fits within a capital recycling strategy which Sonae Sierra has been implementing.
The goal is to “invest in assets with value creation opportunities as well as in development projects”.
However, Sonae Sierra will continue to manage the shopping centre and commercialise its units because of the “confidence our institutional investors have in our experience and know-how and continue to choose us as an operational partner of choice in the various parts of the world in which we operate,” says Fernando Guedes de Oliveira, CEO of Sonae Sierra.
LeiriaShopping was inaugurated in 2010, has 44,400 m2, 117 shops including anchor brands such as Inditec, H&M, FNAC and C&A. Last year the shopping centre enjoyed a footfall of over 7 million visitors.
In 2018 Sonae Sierra reported profits of €1.10Bn which benefitted from the sale of two new international shopping centres.
Its direct net profit stood at €66.5 million (+3%) while its indirect profits fell 4% to 43.6 million.
In 2018 the company’s Gross Asset Value in shopping centres worldwide was €600 million while it invested over €165 million in expansion plans in Spain, Greece, and Colombia.