Focus Estate Fund acquires BariMax Shopping Village

Luxembourg-based private equity real estate investment fund Focus Estate Fund has acquired the BariMax Shopping Village. 

BariMax Shopping Village

This retail park is located in the northern part of Bari, Italy, and represents a strategic entry for the Fund into the southern Italian market, expanding its growing European portfolio.
BariMax Shopping Village spans approximately 18,785 m2 of gross leasable area, accommodating 14 tenant units. The park boasts a strong tenant mix, anchored by a Famila supermarket, and includes popular brands such as Sinsay, Happy Casa, Kartodromo BariMax go-karting, OVS, Cisalfa, and a Prenatal children’s store. The property benefits from excellent accessibility, with direct frontage on the SS16 Adriatica state road, in proximity to the Bari ring road, and an international airport just 8 km away.
This new addition to Focus Estate Fund's portfolio offers a weighted average unexpired lease term (WAULT) of approximately 8.4 years.
Maxim Shkolnick, general partner of Focus Estate Fund, commented: “Entering the Italian market marks an important step in our long-term growth strategy. Bari offers compelling fundamentals with its strong retail demand and favourable demographics, and we see great potential to further enhance and solidify BariMax Shopping Village as a top-performing retail destination. Building on our established expertise in Poland, the UK and the Czech Republic, we are looking to further expand across continental Europe, with a focus on Spain, Portugal, France, and beyond.”
Stefania Emanuele, joint head of Pradera Management Italy, added: “We are pleased to have supported this successful transaction and are delighted to be retained by Focus Estate Fund as asset managers of BariMax Shopping Village. We look forward to working together to ensure the continued strong performance of this well-established retail destination.” 
With its latest acquisition, Focus Estate Fund has grown its European portfolio to 13 retail assets, encompassing a combined Gross Leasable Area (GLA) of 220,000 m2. 
The expanded portfolio now includes 10 assets in Poland; 2 assets in the UK, specifically Island Green Retail Park in Wrexham and Kingdom Shopping Centre in Glenrothes; and its first asset in Italy.