Ingka Centres Announces New Growth Opportunity with Domestic Partner

Ingka Centres has today announced a new partnership with a Domestic Fund Manager GoHigh Capital, to establish a real estate fund, which will co-own three of its Livat meeting places in Wuxi, Beijing and Wuhan. This cooperation is subject to the approval procedures of the relevant Chinese authorities.

In addition to the co-ownership Ingka Centres will continue to exclusively manage and operate the meeting places under the Livat brand.  

This step represents a strategic opportunity to leverage Ingka Centres strong operational expertise, ensure continuity and community connection, and unlock new growth and partnership opportunities for Ingka.  

A brand new IKEA store will be created inside Livat Wuxi and operated by IKEA China. The existing premise is part of the transaction and will be redeveloped for an exciting new tenant offer for Livat Wuxi. 

“Ingka in China has a long-term established presence and is committed to becoming even more relevant, accessible, and sustainable. It’s why we made our biggest investment globally with the opening of Livat Shanghai last year and why we’re super excited about our new partnership with GoHigh Capital. It opens up a brand new business and growth opportunity while keeping us deeply invested in and connected to the communities we’ve been part of for so many years. We’re excited about the future ahead.”- said Cindy Andersen - Global President of Ingka Centres. 

China is a strategic market for Ingka and a hub of retail innovation for the world. Ingka is continually finding new ways to meet the evolving needs of consumers in an omnichannel retail landscape. Across Ingka Group in China, there are over 10,000 co-workers and the Retail and Centres businesses welcome millions of visitors and customers every year.   

Over the past 16 years, Ingka Centres has developed and operated 10 Livat meeting places and 3 office projects in China, with a total investment of over 27billion RMB. In 2024, Livat Xi’an and Livat Shanghai were added to the portfolio, with Livat Shanghai representing Ingka Centres’ largest single investment globally at over RMB 8 billion. 

“Ingka Centres in China has consistently delivered outstanding performance and growth. We see great visitation and tenant sales, occupancy rates remain consistently high, and customer satisfaction is strong. We are thrilled to see the many people in China warmly embracing the concepts and experiences we bring to our Livat meeting places, and we are pleased to be adding this new growth opportunity to our business,” said Joyce Zhu, President of ​Ingka Centres China. 

"We greatly admire Ingka Centres’ product innovation and operational expertise, which have created captivating retail experiences for Chinese consumers. " said Su Xin, Executive Partner of GoHigh Capital.  

“The continued success of the Livat projects fully demonstrates the outstanding management expertise of the Ingka Centres China team, reinforcing our belief that the perfect integration of international experience and local innovation can lead the trends of shopping centres in China.” said Josh Yisheng Zhou, Executive Partner of GoHigh Capital. 

IKEA China, with 27 years of experience in the country has also been advancing its omni-shopping experience and keeps moving forward with greater focus and agility. The five newly opened, different size stores and further presence on the online platform JD, marks a total of 41 physical customer meeting points, three owned digital channels, and two online stores at 3rd party (Electronic Commerce) platforms. IKEA wants to be more accessible and convenient for more people, and be closer to where they are. 

In August, Ingka Investments announced its first circular investment in China, taking a stake in plastic recycler Re-mall.