AIM-listed North Real Estate Opportunities Fund today announced it has bought a 1.1m sq ft €300m (£204m) shopping centre development in Odessa, Ukraine.

The fund, which is backed by Vincent Tchenguiz, has bought the two-phase Riviera Shopping City, which will go on site in the first quarter of 2008, and is scheduled for completion by the first quarter of 2009.

The first phase, the site of which NREO purchased for €75m (£51m), will total 807,000 sq ft  and include a hypermarket, DIY retailer, electrical retailers, furniture stores and sporting goods stores.

The 269,100 sq ft second phase will be a fashion led mall, which will also include leisure facilities such as restaurants, a cinema and a bowling alley.

The fund was previously owned by asset management specialist North Asset Management, but was bought on Monday by hedge fund manager Absolute Capital Management.

Absolute paid €12.5m (£8.5m) for the contract to run the property fund and said it planned to raise a further €100m to €200m (£68m to £136m) for the fund to start its own property hedge fund.

In December 2006 NREO bought a retail park and shopping centre development in Romania for a total of €143m (£97m).