CORK-based CMC Capital has bought Germany's second largest retail mall in a €245m investment deal. Located off the main A10 motorway ring road in Berlin, the A10 Shopping Centre has an annual footfall of eight million shoppers.  The centre has been purchased on behalf of CMC Capital's property syndicate investors in a joint venture deal with a UK private  investment firm.

CMC Capital is the property investment division of Crowley & McCarthy  chartered accountants and taxation advisors. Headquartered in  Clonakilty, CMC Capital has offices in Dublin and Cork. It has been  active in the German market since late 2004 and now has over €500m of  property assets under management. The firm identified Germany as a high potential investment location  when the country was emerging from a recession that had caused  commercial property values to plummet. The German economy has  performed strongly in the last 18 months, with business confidence at  a 15 year high and property prices are recovering steadily. CMC  Capital is also active in the UK property market, with a particular  focus on the London region.

The A10 Centre is a major regional shopping centre of around 116,500sqm in area. Plans are also in place to further extend the centre by  2009. The purchase represents an initial yield of circa 6%. The A10  Centre opened in 1996 on a site of 80 acres. It benefits from 4,000  free car parking spaces.There are 116 retail units located in the main shopping centre, a  large DIY retail warehouse unit and a discount retailing area. The  centre also has a leisure centre with a 14-screen cinema, a 30-lane  bowling alley as well as a selection of bars and restaurants.

The centre has a varied tenant mix that includes many leading  international and German retailers. Household good retailers located  in the centre include Lidl supermarket, Real hypermarket, Bauhaus (the  German equivalent of Woodies DIY or B&Q), Mediamax and Vodafone.  Fashion retailers include C&A, H&M, Espirit, Yves Rocher, Bonita, 
Douglas, Ospray, Babyone and Peek & Cloppenburg.

  For further information:  richard@crowleymccarthy.ie