Eurocommercial completes the acquisition of Les Grands Prés in Mons for €265 million
Eurocommercial completed on 4 November 2026 the acquisition of this Belgian shopping centre from Union Investment, for €265 million. According to the property company, the transaction is expected to increase its direct investment result per share by approximately €0.02 in 2027. This estimate takes into account interest expenses that are expected to rise with the move to long-term financing.
An acquisition funded by shares and a bridge loan, accretive from day one
Eurocommercial confirmed the completion of the acquisition of Les Grands Prés in Mons, announced on 29 October, in a press release published after the close of Euronext on 5 November 2026. The centre contributes to the group's results from the completion date of the transaction.
It becomes the second Belgian asset of the property company after Woluwe Shopping in Brussels, and its sixth flagship centre. The other five are Carosello and Fiordaliso in Milan, I Gigli near Florence, Woluwe Shopping and Passage du Havre in Paris. With this transaction, Belgium becomes the group's third-largest market by property value.
The net initial yield of 7.5% corresponds to net rental income of €20 million relative to the acquisition price. It exceeds the transaction's weighted average cost of capital, put at 6.6% by the property company, which makes the acquisition accretive from day one according to the group.
The purchase was financed through existing resources, available credit lines and the net proceeds of the accelerated placement launched on 29 October. Oversubscribed, this placement resulted in the issuance of 5.2 million new shares, for gross proceeds of €128.4 million.
In the calculation of the cost of capital, this share issuance works out to a yield of approximately 10%. The balance is financed by a two-year bridge loan, at the current rate of 3.5%, fixed at the time of completion of the transaction.
For 2027, the property company expects indexed net rental income of at least €20.6 million from Les Grands Prés. It is preparing the long-term financing of the asset and states that it has already received strong interest from banks.
Chief Financial Officer Roberto Fraticelli also set a stock market objective for the transaction: “The share issuance also aims to increase Eurocommercial's market capitalisation and its liquidity on the stock exchange.”
Pre-emption right in Mons, vacancy reduced to 1.0% in Umeå
The company that owns Les Grands Prés holds a pre-emption right over the premises of the Carrefour hypermarket, which the property company could exercise if their owner decided to sell them. It would then extend its footprint over the shopping area and steer the development of both the gallery and the hypermarket.
At MAPIC, the commercial real estate trade show held in Cannes on 3 and 4 November 2026, the leasing team received numerous requests from retailers wishing to set up in the centre or modernise their store. These discussions are expected to feed the repositioning programme planned for the site.
In Umeå, Sweden, the Avion Shopping centre, acquired in April 2026, has seen its vacancy rate fall from 5.8% to 1.0% in six months. Following the toy retailer Lekia, the department store Åhléns has signed a lease, while Lagerhaus and Partyland have been relocated and Eyes + More and VaccinDirekt have joined the ground floor.
According to preliminary estimates, the net operating income of this asset could rise by nearly 10% from the third quarter of 2027, subject to the three planned leases progressing as expected.
At I Gigli, near Florence, Lefties opened on 29 October 2026 a store of approximately 4,000 m², the brand's third Italian location, joining the other leading Inditex brands present in the centre.
Mango is due to follow in November within the Coin department store, then Lidl on 3 December in the neighbouring retail park, completing this phase of the repositioning.
Rent indexation: 4.5% in Belgium, 5.2% expected in Italy
In Belgium, the health index, applied to leases indexed in October, rose 4.5% year on year in that month. Inflation is thus passed on to the relevant leases every month, and the official forecast for average indexation over the next twelve months also stands at 4.5%.
In Italy, the forecast for the FOI index for October shows an annual increase of 5.2%. If the December 2026 index, which sets the indexation of Italian leases from January 2027, is at a comparable level, annual rental income from the Italian portfolio could increase significantly, according to the group.
These elements add to the trajectory presented on 29 October 2026: the property company was then aiming for the upper end of its range of €2.45 to €2.50 per share for its 2026 direct investment result, based on a 4.4% increase in tenant sales on a like-for-like basis over the first nine months.
Listed in Amsterdam since 1 November 1991, Eurocommercial celebrated the 35th anniversary of its listing on 30 October 2026 and plans to transfer its shares to Euronext Securities, its future central securities depository. It would become the first Dutch issuer listed in Amsterdam to join the European model launched by Euronext in September 2026.
