Rockspring Property Investment Managers has exchanged conditional contracts for its third acquisition on behalf of NPS Real Estate Projects (previously known as NPS Central London Property).

It has acquired a 51 per cent stake of the O’Parinor Shopping Centre, Paris for EUR223m from Hammerson, with an option to acquire a further 24 per cent interest in 12 months if requested by either party.

Located in Ile de France, 15km from the centre of Paris in one of the most affluent and most densely populated areas of France, O’Parinor is a two storey shopping centre totalling 967,000 square feet. It is let to over 200 international brands such as Carrefour, H&M, Zara, Toys “R” Us, Fnac and Sephora.

Hammerson, a European property company, will continue to hold the remaining interest in the property and will retain an asset management role for the shopping centre.

This acquisition is part of a mandate which is being undertaken by Rockspring on behalf of the National Pension Service of Korea, the world’s fifth largest pension fund, to invest on a deal by deal basis in high quality commercial property assets across Europe. Within the last 12 months, Rockspring has already acquired 40 Grosvenor Place and 88 Wood Street in London on behalf of NPS within this segregated mandate structure.

Robert Gilchrist, chief executive of Rockspring and fund director for NPS Real Estate Projects, says: “This transaction reflects the confidence NPS has placed in Rockspring over the last few years, from first investing in our TransEuropean IV closed-ended fund back in 2007 to today entrusting us with this type of deal driven strategy, firstly in Central London and now across the whole of Europe. The expertise of our local Rockspring teams on the continent and in the UK has allowed us to so far purchase some exceptional assets let to major tenants.

“We are pleased as ever to be working alongside NPS and to have completed this third trophy transaction for them in the last 12 months.”