Major Owners Made EUR350M From Real Estate In 2012

These investors own 24 malls in Bucharest and the rest of the country, about half of the total space in modern retail centers, and various office buildings with a lettable area of about 450,000 square meters, one third of the office space stock in Bucharest.

Iulian Dascalu, the South-African NEPI, or Israeli-held AFI Europe expanded their portfolios by new acquisitions or completion of projects last year that helped them boost revenue on a sluggish real estate market with few active companies.

Dascalu, who owns the shopping center network Iulius Mall, climbed up in the ranking after completing the Palas Iasi project in May last year, which contributed EUR10 million to the group’s revenue in 2012. In all, Dascalu made EUR55.6 million revenue last year and plans to see it increase to more than EUR60 million this year.

Austria’s Immofinanz, too, posted higher revenue because of the Maritimo Constanta Mall, opened at the end of 2011, but the company also decided to close the Armonia Center in Arad (western Romania), which will not be generating any revenue, at least for a while. Immofinanz’s revenue in Romania amounted to EUR48.6 million in November 2011-October 2012.

The shopping area of the Baneasa complex in northern Bucharest, owned by businessmen Gabriel Popoviciu and Radu Dimofte generated more than EUR40 million revenue last year, according to information ZF got from the officials of Baneasa Developments. Grand Cinema Digiplex completed in the fall of 2011 had a significant contribution to it. Adding the revenue of the Baneasa Business & Technology Park, the office space area of the complex, the total revenue can be estimated at some EUR47 million.

NEPI’s revenue rose by 25% to more than EUR40 million in 2012, mainly because of the acquisition of City Business Center office development in Timisoara and the completion of the Ploiesti Shopping City late in the year, which it developed in partnership with Carrefour.

NEPI is the most aggressive property buyer and developer in Romania, so its revenue can be expected to increase in 2013.

Another important property owner is local businessman Liviu Tudor, who is the biggest Romanian owner of office space through his West Gate Militari and Novo Park Pipera (western and northern Bucharest) business parks. The two parks generated EUR31.5 million in revenue, according to the information ZF got from the officials of the group.

AFI Europe, which holds the AFI Palace Cotroceni mall in Bucharest expanded into office space last year when it completed the AFI Park 1 building, which helped drive revenue to over EUR27 million. The mall remains the main stream of revenue, having generated EUR25 million to EUR26 million in 2012, according to ZF estimates. Its owners will open a second mall in Romania, the AFI Palace Ploiesti, this fall.

CA Immo, GTC and Unirea Shopping Center have not published their 2012 financial reports, but they too make EUR20 million to EUR30 million each from the buildings they own in Romania.

Anchor Group’s revenue from renting space in Bucharest Mall and Plaza Romania shopping centers, as well as Anchor Plaza office building, can be estimated at about EUR35 million in 2012.

(English version by Loredana Frățilă-Cristescu)

*ZF estimates
**revenue derived in November 1, 2011- October 31, 2012

Source: company data and ZF information