Rockcastle enters the Czech property market with the acquisition of Forum Liberec – EuropaProperty

Rockcastle, a listed retail property company, has acquired Forum Liberec from British retailer Tesco for around €80 million. Forum Liberec is a regional shopping centre located in the heart of Liberec, the capital of the North Bohemia region. The 47,000 sqm centre is tenanted by strong retailers including: Tesco, Cinema City, C&A, Datart, Gant, H&M, Lindex, New Yorker, Nord Blanc, Norma, ProBest, Reserved, Sportissimo and Tiger.

With an annual footfall of over 12 million, Forum Liberec has the highest footfall in the region. Rockcastle’s investment focus has been in Poland where it owns six retail centres and this acquisition represents its first investment in the Czech Republic. Its strategy is to expand its retail property portfolio in Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary through the acquisition of existing assets and retail development sites.

Spiro Noussis, Chief Executive Officer of Rockcastle Global Real Estate, said, “It is very exciting to have acquired our first retail centre in the Czech Republic and believe that the tenant profile can be further strengthened which will enhance the mall’s dominance and enable it to grow its income into the future.”

“Forum Liberec is a prominent shopping centre in the North Bohemian region capitalizing on its location in the centre of Liberec with all transportation means in the closest vicinity. This well-established retail property with enormous footfall has attracted a stable interest of in-town shoppers over the years and as such represents a great opportunity for Rockcastle, a specialist in retail property investment, making Forum Liberec its Czech market entry,” said Hana Kollmannová, Associate Director at JLL Czech Republic and buy side advisor in the Forum Liberec transaction.