New retail and leisure centre in Torremolinos backed by newly merged property developer super group

Hammerson, a British company that owns major shopping and retails centres in the UK including Bicester Village, The Bullring in Birmingham and Brent Cross in London, recently announced plans to acquire the Intu group, one of the largest property companies in Europe.

Together, the companies will complete plans to build the largest shopping and leisure centre on the Mediterranean which will be located north of the Palacio de Congresos in Torremolinos.

The merge between Hammerson and Intu will make the group the second largest company listed on the stock market in Europe. Plans to expand to the region highlights the significance of its growth, and by extension its great interest to developers.

In Spain, Intu owns major commercial centres such as the Xadadú in Madrid, Puerto Venecia in Zaragoza and Parque Pricipado in Asturias. The company already owns the land for the new project in Torremolinos and plan to adapt the new development to new consumer habits by creating a large centre that combines shops with open-air areas with many different attractions.

The retail and leisure centre will offer a commercial space that takes up about one-third of the total development and will dedicate the rest of the space to a variety of features and attractions including; a circus, a big wheel, a wind tunnel, a wave pool, climbing area, a lake, a ski slope, a large cinema screen and an aquarium.

The new group will have a pan-European portfolio of retail and leisure assets valued at 23.7 billion euros.