ING has reached an interim settlement with Unibail-Rodamco that could bring an end to the protracted saga of the sale of a 50% stake in its giant Warsaw Shopping Centre.

Unibail-Rodamco said it would pay ING the estimated purchase price of around €190m (£132m) for a 50% stake in the 2.4m sq ft centre. In return ING has agreed that it will pay Unibail-Rodamco the net return as if it had been the legal owner since the centre opened in February this year.

The annual income from the centre is around €22m (£15m). ING has not disclosed the amount of its financial compensation package.

Rodamco, which originally agreed to buy the stake in 2001 for around €150m (£105m) at a yield of 8%, revalued its 50% share of the scheme at the end of 2006 at €191m (£132m) valuing the scheme at around €380m (£265m). ING has valued the scheme at more than €500m (£339m).

Unibail-Rodamco said it expects ING Real Estate to transfer the 50% of the shares in Zlote Tarasy ‘at the earliest opportunity’.

Since it opened in February this year ING has been unable to deliver the 50% stake to Unibail-Rodamco because Warsaw City Council would not hand over its 23% shares in Zlote Tarasy.

The council contributed land for the project in return for the shares that were to be sold back to ING upon completion of the scheme. However, a new city administration, which was critical of the agreement signed by its predecessors, said it would publicly auction its shares. It is unclear if ING has ended its dispute with Warsaw City Council.

ING is contracted to sell the other half of the scheme to one of its own funds ING Real Estate Investment Management’s €600m (£400m) Property Fund Central Europe.