Amstar partnership sells shopping center in Russian secondary market

A partnership between Denver-based Amstar Global Advisers and Renaissance Development sold the Aura Shopping Center in Novosibirsk, Russia, to Moscow-based RosEuro Development for around €195 million, making it the largest transaction in Russia in a secondary market.

Amstar and Renaissance Development acquired the property in 2011. The Aura Shopping Center has more than 200 stores and more than 656,600 square feet of leasable area on four floors. The property is fully leased, with anchor tenants including Zara and other Inditex brands, Sportmaster, Adidas, and New Yorker. The shopping center is located near Lenin Square and the city’s main street, Krasniy Prospect.

Novosibirsk is the third-largest city in Russia. Jason Lucas, president of Amstar Global Advisers, says there has been an increased demand for malls in Moscow and St. Petersburg from groups including Morgan Stanley, Hines and the California Public Employees’ Retirement System. Novosibirsk has a lower supply of retail properties, making the Aura Shopping Center the dominant mall in the region. Lucas says investors are now beginning to expand their interest to secondary cities, as reflected by this transaction.

The Aura Shopping Center will be the second operational shopping center in RosEuro’s portfolio of Russian retail properties. Amstar and Renaissance continue their partnership, holding joint ownership of four shopping centers in Turkey, with a fifth one to open in 2014.