Lighthouse Properties has further expanded its Iberian portfolio with the acquisition of a hypermarket unit at Espacio Mediterrano mall.
The group announced on June 30 that through its wholly owned Spanish subsidiary, Mediterráneo Retail Property, it had acquired Espacio Mediterraneo in Cartagena, Spain. At the time, the 13,549m² hypermarket unit occupied by retail giant Carrefour was under separate ownership and was therefore excluded from the transaction.
On Thursday, Mediterráneo Retail Property entered into a notarial deed of sale with Frey Mediterraneo to acquire the hypermarket for a gross purchase consideration of €19.5m (R398.8m), reflecting a net initial yield of 7% excluding transaction costs.
The hypermarket unit is leased to Carrefour, the anchor grocery tenant of the mall, providing Lighthouse with direct exposure to Carrefour, one of Europe’s leading supermarket groups.
The acquisition enhanced strategic and operational control of the mall, enabling integrated asset management initiatives and supporting long-term value creation through consolidated ownership, Lighthouse said.
“The acquisition is aligned with the company’s investment strategy, strengthening both the strategic positioning and financial performance of the mall, while further increasing the company’s exposure to the Iberian market,” it said.
Business Day reported previously that Lighthouse expected to reap further benefits from the Iberian region, as it was strategically positioned to drive sustained growth in sales, footfall and net property income.
The group said in its interim results for the six months to end-June that it expected a solid financial performance in the 2026 financial year, with growth further supported by full-year contributions from recently acquired properties and value-enhancing capital investments.
Lighthouse, which invests in dominant malls in major western European cities, confirmed its 2025 financial year distribution guidance of about 2.70 euro cents per share.
The group recorded like-for-like net property income growth of 6.9% for the first half of the 2025 financial year, with tenant sales and footfall rising 7.6% and 3.9%, respectively, based on all assets owned at end-June. Much of the momentum came from the Spanish portfolio.
“This strong performance was primarily driven by the Spanish portfolio, driven by the introduction of key anchor tenants and the ongoing consolidation of tenant operations from high street locations and secondary malls into dominant retail centres,” Lighthouse said.
Spain outperformed the broader eurozone in the second quarter of 2025, recording annual GDP growth of 2.8% compared to the eurozone’s 1.4%.
Retail sales in Lighthouse’s Spanish portfolio rose 8% in the first half, well above the regional inflation rate of 2.3% year on year to June. Footfall increased 4.4% over the same period, boosted by new Primark stores at Alcalá Magna and H2O, as well as the opening of Alcampo at Espai Gironés in June last year.
With Noxolo Majavu
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