Coffee with Craig Show – daily CRE news covering the CEE region, Monday, January 16, with Winston Norman, Editor and Chief of EuropaProperty.com.
Property investment in Romania reaches record of €1.25 billion in 2022
Commercial property investment in Romania totalled €1.25 billion in 2022, up 40% compared to the previous year, of which the biggest single deal was Pavăl Holding’s acquisition of CA Immo’s office portfolio for €600 million, according to real estate consultancy JLL România. Last year’s result was the biggest since 2008.
Last year, the office sector had the most significant share of 63% of the transactions market, followed by retail and industrial with shares of 24% and 8.5%, respectively.
“Going forward, given current market conditions, investors with equity and no need for bank financing will have a significant competitive advantage, and properties with bank financing transferable to a potential buyer will be significantly more liquid,” said Andrei Văcaru, Head of Capital Markets JLL Romania.
Panattoni expands Lower Silesia Wrocław Campus project and buys 35 hectares of land
Panattoni has purchased 35 hectares of land and will begin the construction of 160,000 sqm of new buildings as part of the Wrocław Campus in Q2 of this year.
The Wrocław Campus itself, after expansion, will have 350,000 sqm with 6 buildings on an area of 75 hectares. Modern and environmentally friendly warehouse space within the complex is already used by e-commerce and automotive giants: ID Logistics/Amazon, Korean logistics operator Unico and automotive cable manufacturer Leoni.
“The Wroclaw region is targeted by global brands, which gain the opportunity to quickly reach numerous European markets, benefitting from lower operating costs in Poland, relative to Western Europe,” says Marek Dobrzycki, Managing Director at Panattoni.
Primark opens first store in Romania at ParkLake Shopping Center
Primark opened its first store in Romania last December at the ParkLake Shopping Center in Bucharest. The new store marks an important milestone for Primark, which is now entering its 15th market internationally.
Primark has ambitious growth plans for CEE. The brand already operates stores in Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovenia, and will also open in Slovakia in 2023.
Paul Marchant, Chief Executive at Primark, says: “We have ambitious growth plans for our business in Central and Eastern Europe, with Romania becoming our fourth market in Central and Eastern Europe, in which we have eight stores in total and plans to open more over the next year.”
Speedwell secures financing for industrial project in Bucharest
Property developer Speedwell secured financing from Alpha Bank Romania for SpacePlus, its first industrial development in Bucharest. The project spans 10,000 sqm and offers a range of storage unit sizes to accommodate the needs of different businesses.
“Our long-term goal is to transform SpacePlus into a nationwide network by developing new locations in Bucharest and in other cities across Romania,” said Natalia Sarpi, Speedwell’s CFO.