Deka Immobilien Secures $175M Retail Buy

GLIWICE, POLAND-Barely a month after opening, the Silesian region’s largest shopping mall has been acquired by a German investor for a price exceeding $175 million. The 470,000-sf Forum Gliwice was developed by Danish firm Braaten+Pedersen in partnership with Quinlan Private Golub. The latter is a venture between Irish-based Quinlan Private and Golub & Co. of Chicago.

“Forum’s strong position in Silesia was confirmed by the fact that most of the commercial space was leased by a large number of prestigious international tenants,” says Malgorzata Trzaskowska, a retail manager for Quinlan Private Golub. Among those setting up shop are such retailers as Benetton, Carrefour, Pierre Cardin, Stradivarius and Triumph. Responding to consumer demand, almost 70% of the 130 stores at the Forum offer some sort of clothing or footwear, says Trzaskowska.

In developing the asset, Quinlan Private Golub made an investment of about $100 million in Forum Gliwice, company officials estimate. The organization is concentrated on building and investing in Central and Eastern Europe, and currently has more than 23 million sf under its purview. QPG’s hands-on approach involves all aspects of real estate investment, including asset and property management for product types including hotels, mixed-use, multi-family, retail and residential. The group retains a substantial presence in Poland even following the Forum Gliwice divestment.