German shopping centre specialist ECE Projektmanagement is in talks with Sonae Sierra to acquire the AlgarveShopping centre in Guia, near the town of Albufeira in the south of Portugal, well-informed market sources told PropertyEU. Due diligence has yet to start on the asset, which is expected to fetch around EUR 130 mln.

The transaction would represent the first acquisition by ECE in the country.

Sonae invested around EUR 43 mln in the development of the Algarve mall, which opened in 2001. The scheme features 133 shops across 42,500 m2 of space including a Continente hypermarket, a nine-screen cinema and 2,700 parking spaces.

The Portuguese shopping centre developer is also said to be collecting expressions of interest for the 11,600 m2 ViaCatarina shopping centre in the city centre of Porto. The project, which represents a joint venture of Sonae Sierra and ING Real Estate, is being marketed at a price of EUR 100 mln.