The Fund’s optimisation strategy
The Retail Fund aims to increase its assets under management to approximately € 1 billion by 2019. The main drivers of this growth will be acquisitions. The Fund’s strategy focuses on retail real estate that is generating stable returns now and will continue to do so in the future, taking into account the trends and developments in the retail market. The Fund’s execution of this strategy is based on the belief that the future of retail real estate will be determined by two very distinct segments of the market: high street shopping areas that offer consumers a distinctive Experience and district shopping centres or solitary supermarkets that provide very high levels of Convenience. To achieve its targets, the Retail Fund aims to optimise its portfolio through targeted acquisitions, the redevelopment of core assets and the disposal of non-core retail units. We believe that the current competitive market requires specialised, well-positioned retail assets. Our strategy is to focus on what we believe will be the two decisive elements in the future of Retail:
Experience: High street retail units, focus on A1 locations in major shopping cities
Convenience: District shopping centres and solitary supermarkets, focus on catchment areas, strong tenant mix and accessibility
In addition, the key building blocks in the Fund’s strategy are:
Redevelopment: expansion/redevelopment of well-located shopping centres and retail units to meet the quality requirements of modern retail
Active, customised asset management: maintaining high occupancy levels by developing close relationships with tenants, local authorities and consumers
Focus on retail tenants less sensitive to economic cycles as well as innovative retailers adding value in terms of both convenience as experience