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BERLIN-DIG Real Estate & Hospitality has acquired its second suburban Berlin shopping center, paying AED 380 million (US $103 million) for the 55,000-sm (495,000 sf) regional Markisches Zentrum property. The new owner is the global financial investing arm of Dubai Holding. The seller was Hammerson plc of London, a major European property company with operations in the United Kingdom, France and Germany.

Merrill Lynch International financed the deal, "providing very good numbers for us," Duncan Macaulay, DIG's global head of real estate tells GlobeSt.com. "A strong cash flow [from the property] and the knowledge that no one else will probably build [another center] in the area" motivated DIG to do the deal, Macaulay says. "Yields are going down but we have confidence in the German economy that will make this acquisition successful."

DIG's strategy is "to create a German multi-tenant retail portfolio, focusing on assets that offer long-term revenue streams and value-add asset management opportunities," Macaulay says. "There are a lot of high rises and roof tops in the center's location" occupied by affluent shoppers, he tells GlobeSt.com.