Global investment manager WP Carey aims to finalise a major sale-and-leaseback transaction with a pan-European retailer before the end of the year, Cabot Lodge, president and head of European Investments at WP Carey told PropertyEU on the first day of Expo Real.

The company is currently in talks with two pan-European retailers, he said, adding that both deals would be as large - if not larger than - the EUR 300 mln sale-and-leaseback with retailer Metro in Italy announced last week. ‘We hope to get one of the two opportunities across the line before year-end or early next year.’

Lodge said WP Carey is not in exclusivity on these deals. The investor is also working on smaller transactions in Germany and Spain. The Metro cash-and-carry transaction in Italy brought WP Carey’s assets under management outside the US to $3.5 bn (EUR 2.6 bn).