Eurofund Group, the investment and development company with retail projects in the UK, Spain, and Portugal, is entering the Italian market after agreeing to acquire Parma Retail, located in Parma, Northern Italy.

Parma Retail, located just over three miles from the city centre of Parma, has a gross leasable area (GLA) of around 430,500 square feet and houses international and national tenants such as Kiabi, OVS, Decathlon, Euronics, Tedi, Pepco, Terranova, and Cisalfa.

Eurofund Group is planning to transform the centre into the ‘Parma Promenade’ with an investment of 25 million euros to create Italy’s first open-air, integrated retail and leisure promenade. This investment and repositioning of the centre as one of the region’s leading retail and leisure experiential shopping environments will ensure the “long-term operational success of the centre,” added Eurofund. Work is expected to start by the end of 2023.

The centre will also host Eurofund’s ‘anti-mall’ concept, The Hood. Initially launched at UBBO in 2019, it is a community-focused neighbourhood concept gathering the best of street food, leisure, culture and art. Parma Promenade will also include a tailored food offering that will harness Parma’s recognised status as Italy’s ‘Food Valley’.

Eurofund Group acquires Parma Retail in Italy

The acquisition will follow the company’s active expansion and redevelopment strategy used with retail projects including Silverburn in Glasgow, Puerto Venecia in Zaragoza, and UBBO in Lisbon, which combines retail, entertainment, leisure, food and beverage, together with outdoor sports activities.

Ion Saralegui, chief executive at Eurofund Group, said in a statement: “This is a significant milestone for Eurofund Group, especially as we are entering a mature retail market, where Eurofund Group’s experience and value proposition is best placed to create a unique retail and leisure destination that satisfies revolutionised consumers expectations.

“We are happy to have consolidated our knowledge and assets in other markets and we are now very excited to bring that expertise to the Italian market.”

To ensure its launch into Italy is a success, Eurofund is also looking to establish a dedicated team in the country to “ensure the implementation and delivery of the group’s strategic vision and mission in this new market”.

Saralegui added: “As part of this new project, Eurofund Group is looking to establish an Italy office in Milan, from which Stéphane Hepburn, Italy CEO, and Clemens de Meij, financial analyst, will oversee and coordinate the acquisition and transformation of this and future projects.”

Eurofund is also teaming up with Svicom Agency, a market leader in Italy for commercial real estate services, to lease the Parma project to guarantee “a diverse and innovative tenant mix”.