The project has a lettable area of 7,800 square meters and its tenants include C&A, Sportisimo, CCC, Kik, Deichman, Takko and KFC. The center’s main anchor is a Lidl supermarket.
The opening of the retail center in Braila follows he development of two other retail parks in Romania over the past six months. In June, Mitiska REIM and Square 7 Properties developed a project with a lettable area of 3,600 sqm in Drobeta Turnu Severin, southwest Romania, and in October opened a small retail park, of 2,000 sqm, in Bacau, eastern Romania.
“With Romania expected to soon become the second-largest economy in Central Eastern Europe, both international and local retailers are increasingly recognizing the opportunity provided by retail parks. Our partnership with Square 7 Properties, which brings together our international retailer relationships and access to funding with Square 7 Properties’ local expertise and on-the-ground management, means we are well placed to capitalize on this opportunity. Romania is a very important growth market for Mitiska REIM and we are pleased to have attracted Erste Group AG as our banking partner in financing our real estate operating companies in Romania,” said Tomas Cifra, Investment Director CEE at Mitiska REIM.
Mitiska REIM manages the Romanian portfolio on behalf of two funds, First Retail International (FRI) and First Retail International 2 (FRI 2). In September this year, FRI secured a EUR27 million senior debt facility with Erste Group AG for Intercora, a Romanian portfolio of seven retail parks first acquired in 2012. Proceeds of the refinancing will be used to provide liquidity for shareholders and further extensions for selected sites.
In total, Mitiska REIM now operates 26 retail parks in Romania, which is the largest portfolio of any retail park operator in the country, representing a total retail area of more than 110,000 sqm. One new retail park development is scheduled to open next year and three extensions to existing sites are planned.
“The successful openings this year of the Braila, Drobeta Turnu Severin and Bacau sites are testament to the growing popularity of the retail park concept in Romania. We continue to see ample opportunities to grow in Romanian regional cities and are actively looking for new sites. The pipeline of new projects in 2020 looks strong,” said Clemens Petschnikar, CEO of Square 7 Properties.