Listed retail specialist VastNed Retail has signed a 15-year lease with Spanish fashion giant Zara for its new property on 161 Istiklal Caddesi, the leading high street in Istanbul. Total annual rental income is put at EUR2.3 mln.

VastNed acquired the property last November from Yapi Kredi Bank and is in the process of transforming it into a 100% retail property. At present, about half of the total lettable floor space comprises office space. After refurbishment the property will comprise 3,000 metres of gross retail space over five stories with ceiling heights of over five metres and a 20-metre wide façade. The redevelopment work will commence next month and is expected to be finalised by March 2012.

The new store will mark Zara's 28th in Turkey and its fourth on the Istanbul high streets. A high-street location with such a large GLA and wide façade is still relatively rare in Istanbul, according to Bora Karli, VastNed's country manager in Turkey. 'The average retail units here are about 60-70 m2, but the big chains like Inditex, H&M and C&A all want bigger spaces. That means at least 500 m2 and up to about 3,500 to 4,000 m2.'

Part of Vastned’s strategy is to buy up smaller units and merge them to create larger spaces. Karli: 'We focus on development acquisitions, ie retail areas that still need to be created. We are the only foreign company active in the particular segment.'

The May issue of PropertyEU Magazine contains an in-depth interview with Karli as well as other foreign retail investors and developers in the Turkish market including Multi Corporation, ECE, Corio and Pradera Europe. Click on the following link to subscribe: