Cork-based firm buys Hamburg shopping centre for €65 million

OverseasInvestments: CMC Capital, the Cork-based wealth management and property investment division of accountants Crowley & McCarthy, has bought a shopping centre in Hamburg, Germany, for €65 million.

The Bahnhof Altona shopping centre is located at the city's Altona rail station which is used by 100,000 city commuters each day.

The purchase was made on behalf of the company's German Commercial Property Syndicate which will get an initial return of 6 per cent. The shopping centre, with a total area of 15,850sq m (170,608sq ft), has a mix of leading retail chains, an extensive food court and 500 multi-storey car-parking spaces.

Richard Kingston, director of CMC Capital, said the investment would contribute to the positive cash flows of the syndicate thanks to the relatively high yield. It also had excellent capital appreciation prospects.

He said the shopping centre had a very high footfall because of its location beside the railway station. CMC Capital anticipates that its value will grow as the German economy recovers and retail rents increase.

"We believe that this purchase will deliver a great medium term return for our investors," says Kingston. Since calling for investors' funds in March, the CMC syndicated investments have shown a 20 per cent return, according to the company. The average rental yield of the property portfolio has been over 7 per cent.

Other properties acquired in Germany include the €16.5 million Lechland shopping centre in Landsberg near Munich; a retail and office property at Leipzig valued at €12.8 million; a €20 million retail centre in Ingolstadt; a retail and office building in Berlin which cost €11.1 million; and an office property in Stuttgart purchased for €5.15 million. There are typically between 150 and 200 investors in each syndicate structured by CMC with each syndicate investing around €100 million in commercial property. CMC has acquired over €250 million worth of commercial property in Germany since 2004.