VIA Outlets announces that it has completed the purchase of “Factory Wroclaw” from IRUS European Retail Property fund.

The outlet centre, located in Wroclaw Poland, is the only outlet centre in Western Poland and sits within a wider retail offer. The property comprises 15,800 sq.m. of retail space and has 87 units with brands including Adidas, Guess, Marc O’Polo, Nike and Tommy Hilfiger. The centre has a sales density of €3,300/sq.m. and welcomes more than 2.8 million visitors per year.

VIA Outlets is a joint venture formed by UK REIT Hammerson plc, Dutch pension fund asset manager APG, European retail estate investment manager Meyer Bergman and outlet centre specialist Value Retail.

The four partners established VIA Outlets to take advantage of strong growth in the European outlet sector. Since 2014 the joint venture has acquired Batavia Stad Amsterdam Fashion Outlet (The Netherlands), Fashion Arena Prague Outlet (Czech Republic), Hede Gothenburg Fashion Outlet (Sweden), Freeport Lisbon Fashion Outlet (Portugal), Landquart Fashion Outlet (Switzerland), Festival Park Outlets (Spain) and Sevilla The Style Outlets (Spain).

This latest acquisition adds scale and quality to VIA Outlets pan-European portfolio, which now comprises eight centres in seven European countries with a total GLA of about 168,000 sq.m. and some 760 stores under management.

The new owner of Factory Wroclaw is strongly committed to working in close cooperation with its tenants, the municipality of Wroclaw and other key stakeholders to ensure the development, improvement and growth of the centre over the coming years.

VIA Outlets is currently reviewing plans to upgrade the outlet centre – such as introducing more premium brands and improving visitors’ experience – and is exploring fresh initiatives to attract more international visitors. This will result in a complete

re-branding of the centre, including a new name, within the next few months.

VIA Outlets has retained the current team for the day-to-day management of the centre.