Deloitte Legal advises Sonae Sierra on the acquisition of Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield’s German third party real estate management business

A Deloitte Legal team led by Dr. Michael von Rüden (Partner, Corporate/M&A, Düsseldorf) advised Sonae Sierra, a vertically integrated real estate company and a leading player in the European Shopping Center space, on the acquisition of Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield’s German business unit dedicated to the management of shopping centres for third parties - Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield Real Estate Management (“URW REM”).

Headquartered in Düsseldorf, URW REM currently manages a portfolio of 12 shopping centres, representing more than 680,000 sqm of Gross Lettable Area (GLA), supported by a highly experienced team of over 175 professionals. Recognised as one of Germany’s prominent providers of shopping centre management services, it delivers fully integrated shopping centre management solutions, namely in operations, project management & development, marketing, and leasing.

This acquisition emphasises Sonae Sierra’s long-term commitment to the shopping centre sector, particularly to 3rd party Shopping Centre management, which is one of Sierra’s core businesses. It will allow Sonae Sierra to expand its European portfolio to over 60 shopping centres across Europe and expand its network of Shopping Centre management specialists to over 600 people.

Fernando Oliveira, CEO of Sonae Sierra, says: “This agreement is an important milestone in our international growth journey. We are committed to the German market and in expanding our local presence. By bringing together Sonae Sierra’s expertise with the recognised capabilities of URW REM’s management team and staff, we will continue to further support the sustainable development of shopping centres, ensuring value creation for communities, tenants, partners, and investors alike.”

This decision further underlines Sierra’s strategy of providing high-quality real estate services to third parties, supported by over 35 years of experience in the retail sector. With this acquisition, Sierra manages more than 500 real estate assets across Portugal, Spain, Germany, Italy, Morocco, Romania, and Kosovo, with over 2.9 million m² of GLA. With a team of around 1,000 professionals, the company is a benchmark player in Europe, offering end-to-end Property Management services that leverage technology platforms to maximise efficiency and performance - from operations and leasing to marketing, sustainability, architecture, and project management.

Advisors to Sonae Sierra

Deloitte Legal Deutschland: Dr. Michael von Rüden (Lead, Partner), Dirk Hänisch (Partner), Thilo Hoffmann (Partner), Horst Heinzl (Counsel), Christoph Meves (Counsel), Maximilian Giepmann (Associate) and Victoria Zahn (Associate, all Corporate/M&A, all Düsseldorf) Felix Skala (Partner), Katharina Zickermann (Counsel, both Antitrust Law, both Hamburg), Nikola Werry (Partner, Digital Law, Frankfurt), Jan Rudolph (Counsel, Digital Law, Düsseldorf), Alina Scheja (Associate, Digital Law, Frankfurt), Claus Wilker (Counsel, Employment Law, Hannover), Matthias Meinert (Partner, Banking & Finance, Munich), Lisa Baumann (Senior Associate, Banking & Finance, Munich), Nauar Kaumi (Associate, Banking & Finance, Düsseldorf)