Coffee with Craig Show – daily CRE news covering the CEE region with Craig Smith, Publisher and Founder of EuropaProperty.com and Winston Norman, Editor and Chief of EuropaProperty.com.
M Core launches into the Romanian market with €219 million acquisition
Pan-European commercial property collective, M Core, has officially launched into the Romanian market with its largest deal to date — an investment nearing €219 million consisting of 25 managed assets. The deal sees M Core purchase a 132,000 sqm retail portfolio from Mitiska REIM, positioning the collective as the largest property owner in the Romanian retail park market. M Core was advised on this transaction by real estate consultancy company iO Partners.
M Core’s launch into Romania is the next step in the property collective’s expansion vision. The venture is led by M Core co-CEOs of Romania, Sebastian MacDonald-Hall and James Fife. With the recent acquisition, Sebastian MacDonald-Hall emphasises that M Core is poised to initiate a strong presence in the territory, aligning with the collective’s commitment to strategic growth.
James Fife, Chief Executive Officer of LCP in Poland, part of M Core and co-CEO of Romania, added, “By entering the Romanian market, we can diversify our portfolio and create further opportunities to establish strong national business relationships. As we look to expand our portfolio in 2024, asset sustainability and community integration will remain key focuses underpinning our growth.”
BIG CEE and RC Europe reached an agreement on two projects in Serbia
BIG CEE and RC Europe have reached an agreement on the sale and purchase of two retail parks in Serbia, Nest Obrenovac and Nest Kraljevo. The process of the transaction was facilitated by CBRE. Nest Obrenovac covers an area of GLA 11,000 sqm, while Nest Kraljevo covers GLA 9,500 sqm, both projects have an occupancy rate of 100 percent.
This transaction continues BIG CEE’s strategy of investing in additional cities throughout Serbia. “We are very satisfied with this transaction, which is in direct support of implementing our strategy of bringing the BIG experience to every citizen of Serbia,” said Lev Weiss, CEO of BIG CEE.
The RC Europe Group will use the proceeds from the transaction for the construction and development of the logistics and industrial park project RC ZONE Samobor near Zagreb in Croatia. RC Europe groups are now building here the largest single building in Croatia with a total rentable area of more than 80,000 sqm.
“We are pleased that both centres will continue to be managed and developed by the company number one on the Serbian retail market,” added Martin Grünwald, a member of the board of directors of the RC Europe group.
Refield opens Pasaż Kępiński
Developer Refield announced the opening of Pasaż Kępiński – a modern retail park in the Kępiński district. Pasaż Kępiński has an area of nearly 12,000 sqm GLA consists of three buildings, offering a total of 21 modern commercial premises.
“We implement shopping malls in locations that need them most and provide convenient retail solutions in places with potential. Pasaż Kępiński corresponds perfectly to our strategy. This is a complete project – we believe that it will perform very well in the coming years,” emphasized Fabian Eryk Barbarowicz, President of the Management Board of Refield.
Panattoni starts construction of 84,000 sqm industrial park in Łódź
Panattoni has started the construction of the first hall within Panattoni Park Łódź West II, which will occupy 70,630 sqm. Almost half of this space will be taken up by Rohlig SUUS Logistics. The first of the facilities will be delivered in the third quarter of 2024.
“In the era of the rapidly growing Polish industrial real estate market, the Łódź region is becoming one of the most attractive logistics hubs not only in the country but also in Europe,” commented Marek Dobrzycki, Managing Director at Panattoni.
“Central Poland, including the Łódź voivodeship, continues to develop dynamically, so companies, including those in manufacturing or e-commerce, need comprehensive logistics support, including warehouse services,” explains Adam Galek, Board Member of Rohlig SUUS Logistics.
