Chinese buy Wijnegem and Waasland shopping centres

The Waasland Shopping Center in Sint-Niklaas, East Flanders, and the Wijnegem Shopping Center near Antwerp have been acquired by the Chinese Investment Company (CIC) in conjunction with the property fund manager AEW.

Majority stakes in the two retail centres formed part of a package along with eight centres in France that were put up for auction by CBRE Global Investors. CIC/AEW came in with the highest bid at €1.3 billion.

The deal means that CIC now owns 50% of Wijnegem, worth €400 million, and 65% of Waasland for a value of €360 million. Losing bidders were Werelhave Belgium/Unibail-Rodamco and AG Real Estate.

Wijnegem is the largest shopping centre in the Benelux, its architecture modelled on the fort that used to stand on the site. It opened in 1993 with 250 outlets over 61,900 square metres. Waasland is smaller at 45,000 square metres and 140 shops and dates to 1972. It was renovated and extended beyond the original 40 shops in 2004.

Photo courtesy Wijnegem Shopping Center