AXA IM in fresh JV with Unibail-Rodamco to buy Leipzig centre

AXA Investment Managers-Real Assets has completed the acquisition of a joint-controlling stake in Paunsdorf shopping centre in Leipzig, Germany for €132.5m.

AXA IM-RA said it bought the interest from Ivanhoé Cambridge, the real estate subsidiary of Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec (CDPQ).

The shopping centre will be jointly owned by AXA IM-RA and property group Unibail-Rodamco Germany, which will continue to manage the asset. The two companies know each other well, having earlier collaborated in buying the Ruhr Park Shopping Centre in Bochum together.

Paunsdorf is one of the largest shopping centres in the region, totalling 114,000sqm of gross leasable area across three floors and more than 170 retail units. It was built in 1995 and in 2012 underwent major refurbishment.

The acquisitions follows other investments in shopping centres. In June, AXA IM-RA bought an interest in Area Sur Shopping Centre Spain. The company has also invested in Val d’Europe in France and Cabot Circus in the UK.

Laurent Jacquemin, European head of transactions at AXA IM-RA, said the Paunsdorf Centre “is a clear example of a retail-led property which already performs well in its own right but where we, together with our partner, see the potential for further value-enhancing initiatives… Paunsdorf Centre is a high quality asset and well located in a city demonstrating strong demographic fundamentals,” he added.