Meyer Bergman/HOOPP JV sells Czech Nová Karolina mall

The buyer is ČS nemovitostní, the largest and oldest Czech investment fund, managed by REICO, a unit of Austria's Erste Asset Management.

Nová Karolina offers over 58,000 sqm of gross lettable area and is the dominant regional shopping centre in Ostrava, the Czech Republic’s third largest city with a catchment area of 1.2m people, a statement said. The mall comprises 277 retail units and tenants presently include brands such as C&A, Albert hypermarket, Marks & Spencer, Peek & Cloppenburg, Cinema City, H&M and Intersport.

Since its opening six years ago the headline results of the asset management program have included a 73% growth in annual sales and an 87% rise in visitors, the release said.

Mark Gamble, Head of Asset Management at Meyer Bergman, said the JV acquired Nová Karolina as a new development. "We have successfully established it as the dominant regional shopping centre since," he added.

"On every key metric of investment value from turnover to footfall, management of leases and the introduction of new tenants and brands, we have achieved significant year-on-year growth and quality improvement in the asset. The results of this carefully implemented asset management program have now been crystallised into solid returns for our investors through the sale.”

Savills and Cushman & Wakefield advised the Meyer Bergman and HOOPP joint venture on the sale.