Coffee with Craig Show – daily CRE news covering the CEE region with Publisher Craig Smith and Winston Norman, Editor & Chief of EuropaProperty.com.
Revetas Capital secures three mandates from Korean companies
Revetas Capital has secured three mandates from Korean Asset Management Companies (AMCs) representing multiple Korean Institutional Limited Partners (LPs), with an initial investment volume of over €860 million.
The mandates aim to support Korean overseas investments due to shifting interest rates and a rise in complex real estate situations in the European and US-based markets.
“Our focus is on providing capital recovery solutions in a market characterised by dislocation, complexity, and the ongoing importance of price discovery. We see solutions in uncertain times that offer real and meaningful value to our partners and a roadmap to recovering capital,” said Eric Assimakopoulos, Revetas’ Managing Partner.
Cromwell sells Polish retail portfolio for €285 million
Real estate investor Cromwell Property Group announced the sale of six retail centres across Poland, held by the Cromwell Polish Retail Fund, to Star Capital Finance for €285 million.
The portfolio totals over 219,000 sqm and includes rights in six shopping centres. Since acquiring the portfolio in 2019, Cromwell has significantly improved occupancy and footfall levels. The Group will continue to act as asset manager on behalf of Star Capital Finance.
Andrew Creighton, Head of Investment Management, Europe at Cromwell Property Group, commented: “This sale concludes our strategy to sell these assets to achieve our strategic target of being a capital-light fund manager, with our asset management programmes successfully boosting the performance of each shopping centre and notably enhancing the sustainability credentials of the portfolio.
Josef Malir, Managing Director at Star Capital Finance, commented: “Entering the Polish market is a milestone and a huge challenge for us, which we intend to take full advantage of.”
Poland’s largest convenience chain Żabka opens first store abroad
Poland’s Żabka, the largest convenience store chain in Central and Eastern Europe, has launched its first shop abroad after opening an outlet in Romania. The firm hopes to have 200 stores in the country by the end of the year, adding to the over 10,000 it already has in Poland.
It has now opened its first convenience store in Bucharest. Functioning under the brand name Froo, the store is in a pilot phase and is hence available only to a certain group of test customers in what the firm calls a “friends&family” formula.
Żabka is expanding into the Romanian market after taking over a majority stake in local distribution company DRIM Daniel Distribuţie FMCG – a family business worth over €100 million – earlier this year.
