“Nearly 100,000 square meters of modern space were built this year in Romania, but no project in Bucharest. This year’s deliveries consisted of extensions of existing projects and new projects, which, however, targeted tertiary towns, such as Baia Mare, Satu Mare, Slobozia, Roman. This is the second consecutive year in which Bucharest has seen no new project, and, as things stand, there will be no other investment over the next two-three years”, said Mariana Stamate, head of property management within JLL Romania.
Overall, a little over 100,000 sqm were delivered in 2018, within four new projects and two extensions of existing projects.
South-African investors, both NEPI Rockcastle and Prime Kapital, hold the top spot in terms of retail project inaugurations in 2018. Thus, NEPI Rockcastle places first regarding openings by surface area, with the Shopping City Satu Mare project, covering nearly 29,000 sqm, an investment of approximately EUR40 million.
Prime Kapital, an investment and real estate development company founded by Martin Slabbert and Victor Semionov, two of former managers of investment fund NEPI Rockcastle, has brought three new projects to the market, in Baia Mare, Roman and Slobozia, respectively, with a combined surface area of over 52,000 sqm. The two investors established the company in 2016.
France’s Catinvest, the owner of Electroputere Parc shopping mall in Craiova, has extended the mall by over 9,000 sqm, while Austria’s S Immo has completed the extension of the Sun Plaza shopping mall by 11,000 sqm, within an investment of EUR30 million.
The last two decades brought to the Romanian market a total stock of 123 retail projects, of which 50 are retail parks, 41 are medium and large-sized shopping malls and retail galleries and 32 are smaller retail galleries.