PATRIZIA, a German asset manager with a focus on real estate and infrastructures, acquired from Lidl a portfolio of 24 newly built supermarkets in Italy (10 shops), Spain (8) and France (6) through a sale and leaseback transaction that allows the German food retail chain to keep using the properties under long-term agreements through its foreign subsidiaries. The contracts offer the investors a mechanism for adjusting rental income in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The portfolio includes ten supermarkets in Italy, eight in Spain and six in France, with a total retail area of approximately 50,000 sqms. Lidl appointed JLL for the sale of such assets (press release of Lidl and of JLL).
The parties did not disclose the transaction value. However, market rumours say that the deal value is worth above 160 million euros.
PATRIZIA’s European retail platform currently manages assets worth 4.2 billion euros. The German firm invests in supermarkets, food retail outlets and retail complexes, predominantly leased to operators with an established presence in their respective domestic markets, favouring properties that can generate steady long-term returns.
Christie Wright, co-head of Investment Management of PATRIZIA, said: “Food retail continues to offer excellent investment opportunities where the quality of the property and the strength of the operator guarantee sustainable returns over the long term. The sector also benefits from long-term structural trends, including urbanisation and the steady demand for essential retail outlets in strategic locations. This portfolio fits perfectly into our strategy, bringing with it first-class assets in three key European markets. The transaction builds on our many years of experience in the sector and further strengthens PATRIZIA’s European platform dedicated to food retail.”
The transaction forms part of a market in which sale and leaseback agreements are a tool used by large-scale retailers to free up tied-up capital without losing access to their retail outlets.
In January 2025, Coop Alleanza 3.0 sold 22 commercial properties for 222 million euros through a sale and leaseback arrangement with the Retail Partnership fund, a vehicle that BNP Paribas REIM manages and in which ICG Real Estate and a German institutional investor poured resources (see here a previous post by BeBeez). In November 2023, Unicoop Tirreno sold a portfolio of five properties in Tuscany to Paris-listed Tikehau Capital for 37 million whilst retaining management of the supermarkets through lease agreements. An Italian property fund that Investire manages carried on such an investment (see here a previous post by BeBeez).
