Thor Urbana to raise $500m for Mexican retail investment

Thor Equities plans to raise $400 million for its Mexican real estate affiliate, Thor Urbana. Investors include Mexican retirement funds and international investors.

Thor Urbana targets retail and mixed-use schemes, or lifestyle centers, in key Mexican cities with high populations and potential for economic growth.

Thor Urbana has been operating for five years. It currently has projects totaling approximately $1.4 billion in Mexico City, Guadalajara, Playa del Carmen, San Luis Potosí, Torreón, Mérida, Estado de México and Los Cabos, as well as in neighboring country Belize.

Thor Urbana has plans to build a shopping center in Metepec as well as a new five-star hotel in Mexico City, expected to open in 2018. The most recent project, part of the current portfolio, is a 915,000-square-foot office, residential and hotel complex in San Luis Potosí.The project will begin construction in early 2018.

Luxury shopping malls are expected to be more than 35 perce