ECE Real Estate Partners Raises €100M for EPIG Shopping Center Fund, Cites Record Occupancy and Renewed Investor Demand

ECE Real Estate Partners has raised approximately €100 million in new capital for its EPIG Fund, the investment management firm announced. The open-ended core fund targets high-quality shopping centers across Europe and currently holds a portfolio of seven assets with a combined market value exceeding €2.2 billion.

The capital raise drew commitments from new institutional investors in Nordic countries, Switzerland and the Netherlands, broadening the fund's international investor base. ECE Real Estate Partners' existing limited partners include insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds and pension funds.

Portfolio Performance Drives Renewed Institutional Interest

ECE Real Estate Partners cited strong operational results as a key driver of investor confidence. The firm reported that customer footfall across its European centers has returned to 2019 levels, and that the portfolio's leasing rate stands at approximately 98%, which the firm described as a record level. The firm also reported sustained growth in tenant sales and rents.

"In all these storms, our portfolio has performed very well operationally," said Volker Kraft, Managing Partner of ECE Real Estate Partners, referring to the headwinds the retail sector has faced over the past decade, including structural shifts in retail, the growth of e-commerce, rising interest rates and the COVID-19 pandemic. "Customer frequencies in our European centers are back to 2019 levels, the occupancy rate in our portfolio is at a record level of approximately 98%, and we are seeing sustainable growth in sales and rents."

Kraft added that the firm intends to leverage the renewed interest from institutional investors to continue growing, with plans to raise additional capital for the open-ended core fund and to launch new funds over time. "We want to use the revived interest of institutional investors in shopping centers to continue growing," he said.

ECE Real Estate Partners was founded in 2010 and is licensed as an alternative investment fund manager. The firm manages more than €10 billion in assets under management across 25 shopping center properties in seven European countries, giving it more than 15 years of track record in the sector.

Acquisition Focus on Spain and Poland

Markus Schmitt-Habersack, also a Managing Partner at ECE Real Estate Partners, identified Spain and Poland as priority markets for future acquisitions, citing attractive entry pricing in both countries. He emphasized that the fund's geographic diversification across seven European markets helps offset cyclical fluctuations between individual economies.

"Even in the years when capital was plentiful, we focused on acquiring only absolute quality assets," Kraft said, describing the firm's investment discipline as central to its track record.

Schmitt-Habersack described the fund's approach as following a "Follow the Retailers" principle, concentrating on centers with leading market positions and strong anchor tenants. "The large centers that are leading in their catchment areas in growing metropolitan regions perform particularly strongly and stand out in our portfolio," he said.

Asset-Level Activity: Szczecin and Berlin

The firm highlighted recent leasing and development activity at two portfolio assets as illustrations of its strategy.

At Galeria Kaskada in Szczecin, Poland, Zara recently expanded its footprint to 3,000 square meters, and other Inditex-owned brands also received larger spaces within the center. ECE Real Estate Partners described Galeria Kaskada as a "retail powerhouse" that draws shoppers from across the West Pomerania region of Poland and beyond. "The positive sales development confirms our approach," Schmitt-Habersack said.

In Berlin, ECE Real Estate Partners is adding a hospitality component to the Gesundbrunnen-Center. A new structure comprising 162 design apartments will be built atop the center's roof using timber modular construction, with completion targeted for 2027. The apartments will be operated by serviced-apartment brand Stayery. The project converts a previously unused parking deck into income-producing space. The firm also announced that paid parking will be introduced at Gesundbrunnen-Center for the first time on the remaining parking bays, generating additional revenue. "This project illustrates how the close cooperation of our multidisciplinary team of real estate, retail and hotel experts makes it possible to further optimize an already very successful center for our institutional investors," Kraft said.

Other centers referenced in the firm's materials as examples of its dominant-center strategy include Megalò in Italy, Rosengårdcentret in Denmark and Parque Principado in Spain.

Flexibility and Mixed-Use Expansion as Strategic Differentiators

Kraft described the adaptability of shopping centers as a key differentiator from other retail property formats. "New attractive concepts can be introduced again and again, spaces can be optimized again and again, and new uses can be added again and again," he said. "That is what makes shopping centers more resilient and creates growth potential."

Schmitt-Habersack noted that the fund's diversification across seven European countries provides a structural buffer against market-specific downturns.

Sources

ECE Real Estate Partners — "Das Vertrauen in Retail ist zurück"