ECE Real Estate Partners and Bonitas sell Hungarian shopping centre

ECE Real Estate Partners and Bonitas Investment Fund Management have sold the Árkád Szeged shopping centre in Szeged, Hungary.

 Árkád Szeged 

The asset, part of the ECE European Prime Shopping Centre Fund II, has been sold to HOME Ingatlanfejlesztő Alap (HOME Fund), a real estate fund registered in Hungary.

HOME Fund’s largest investor is Unity Asset Management Foundation (UNITY), which serves as the family office of the Csányi family. Both parties have agreed to keep the purchase price confidential.

Árkád Szeged is the dominant retail destination within its catchment area, benefiting from a prime city-centre location with excellent accessibility via the city’s ring road. The scheme comprises approximately 42,000 m2  of gross leasable area and 122 shops. It features a strong tenant base and is characterised by a highly attractive operational profile, with high tenant sales, strong occupancy, and approximately 16,700 visitors per day.

ECE Marketplaces will remain responsible for the management and leasing of Árkád Szeged on behalf of HOME Fund. Developed by the Hamburg-based ECE Group, the centre opened in 2011.

Christian Müller, principal at ECE Real Estate Partners and responsible for ECE European Prime Shopping Centre Fund II, commented: “With the successful sale of Árkád Szeged, we have completed the first asset disposal from the ECE European Prime Shopping Centre Fund II. Since acquiring the centre in 2018, we have consistently executed our value-add strategy, further enhancing its attractiveness and performance. Key initiatives included the introduction of strong new tenants, reinforcing the centre’s competitive positioning and supporting its long-term profile.”

Gábor Marosi, CEO of Unity Asset Management Foundation, added: “We are proud to complete the largest retail real estate transaction in Hungary in the past three years. Árkád Szeged is not only one of the most modern shopping centres in the country and the second-largest mall outside of Budapest, but it will also serve as a strategic asset for UNITY. Szeged is central to UNITY’s core businesses, with flagship companies Pick Szeged and Sole-Mizo operating in the city. We remain committed to continuing with ECE Marketplaces as the manager of the shopping centre, and we will maintain the well-recognised Árkád Szeged brand unchanged.”