Union Investment Real Estate Re-Leases 19,000 m² at Limbecker Platz After Galeria Departure

Union Investment Real Estate Real Estate, acting through its open-ended fund UniImmo: Europa, and co-owner ECE Real Estate Partners — representing the Otto family — have re-leased four of five newly created retail units at the Limbecker Platz shopping center in Essen, Germany, the firm announced June 4, 2026. The leasing activity addresses approximately 19,000 square meters of space that stood vacant across four floors following the early 2024 lease termination by insolvent anchor tenant Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof.

A €30 Million Repositioning at One of Germany's Largest Inner-City Malls

To bring the large contiguous block back to market, Union Investment and ECE jointly invested approximately €30 million to reconfigure the former department store footprint into five independent rental units. According to the firm, four of those five units have been re-leased within roughly 1.5 years of the vacancy arising, with approximately 50 percent of the total space already reopened to shoppers.

Limbecker Platz is located at Limbecker Platz 1A in Essen's city center. The center opened in 2009. Further details on total gross leasable area and number of shops were not provided in the announcement.

The vacancy created by Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof's departure was described by Union Investment as among the largest contiguous empty retail spaces in any German inner-city shopping center at the time.

New Tenant Mix: Fashion, Sports, Grocery and Value Apparel

The repositioning produced a diversified tenant lineup spanning fashion, sporting goods, grocery discount and value apparel.

P&C Düsseldorf, part of the Peek & Cloppenburg Düsseldorf Group, leased approximately 6,400 square meters across two floors and implemented its latest store design concept at the location. The store opened in April 2026.

Sports retailer Intersport Voswinkel secured approximately 2,000 square meters on the first floor under a ten-year lease term and opened in March 2026.

Most recently, the owners handed over space to Netto, described in the announcement as a high-traffic anchor tenant in the local retail segment, and to international fashion retailer Lager 157. Further details on lease terms for Netto and Lager 157 were not disclosed.

Context for the Fund

By splitting the 19,000 m² into five independent units, Union Investment and ECE reduced their exposure to any single tenant. The resulting tenant mix includes discretionary fashion and sporting goods alongside grocery discount and value apparel formats.

Union Investment stated in its press release that the re-leasing secures "sustainable income for the fund" through long-term leases on the vast majority of the newly created retail space.

Sources

Union Investment Real Estate — Press Release: Letting at Shopping Center Limbecker Platz, Essen (June 4, 2026)