In a surprising turn, South African shopping center developer Hyprop has launched an aggressive bid to break into the Romanian real estate market, setting the stage for a potential battle over MAS, a company behind some of Romania’s key malls and retail parks developed alongside Prime Kapital.

The announcement comes just days after Prime Kapital Investments (PKI) revealed its own ambition to take full control of MAS. PKI’s offer, priced at €0.85 per share with a fixed budget cap or non-voting preference shares redeemable after five years, now faces unexpected competition.

Hyprop is countering with a bid tied to the market price of MAS shares as of May 23, 2025 — a valuation it claims beats PKI’s offer and gives shareholders a more compelling exit. MAS had initially presented PKI’s offer to investors as the main path forward earlier in May.

The stakes are high, and the market is watching closely. Questions now swirl over whether Hyprop can secure the funding it needs to drive its expansion into Romania — and whether MAS shareholders will resist PKI’s bid and side with the newcomer.

With Romania’s retail property sector heating up, this surprise move from Hyprop injects a fresh wave of adrenaline into an already competitive market.

Source: economica.net

The first quarter of 2025 ended with real estate investments totaling EUR 175 million in Romania, slightly down by 8% compared to the same period last year but with strong momentum last year’s quarter recording 2.5 times the volume seen in Q4 2024 . According to the Colliers report ”CEE Investment Scene Q1 2025”, total investment volumes more than doubled, supported by a strong rebound in markets like the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Bulgaria. Colliers experts highlight that there is a significant pipeline of transactions currently in Romania that could push the full-year volume slightly above 2024 levels.

“While most CEE-6 countries, including the Czech Republic (+297%), Slovakia (+344%) and Bulgaria (+273%), saw a significant recovery in investments, Romania recorded similar YoY levels but a strong growth on a quarter-to-quarter basis. This comes at a time when investors are returning to CEE markets, attracted by competitive costs, economic potential, and strong prospects in industrial-logistics, hotel, and office sectors. In Romania, however, fiscal and political uncertainties, high financing costs, and a mismatch between sellers’ and buyers’ price expectations have an effect on market dynamics”, explains Robert Miklo, Head of Capital Markets at Colliers.

Romania remains a point of interest for investors due to its strategic regional position, available workforce, and development potential, particularly in the industrial sector. According to Colliers, the local market could return to an upward trend in the second half of the year, provided that several major ongoing transactions are finalized and price expectations align with market demand and supply. Romania continues to be one of the largest economies in the region, contributing over 18% to the combined GDP of the six countries analyzed. Under these conditions, if the large transactions currently underway are completed, the total investment volume could exceed EUR 800 million for the entire year.

Among the most notable deals in Q1 were the market-entry and flagship acquisition of Victoria Center by Solida Capital and the sale of a retail property portfolio by MAS REI to UK-based fund M Core, and the sale of Shopping City Suceava by Argo Capital, with the same buyer.

“Both retail transactions, similar in size, generated over EUR 100 million in turnover, meaning the retail sector accounted for roughly two-thirds of Q1 investment volume, which reinforces the strong comeback of the this segment starting with 2021”, adds Simina Niculiță, Partner and Head of Retail Agency at Colliers.
“The slight drop in year-on-year investment activity in Q1 in Romania does not reflect a lack of interest from investors but rather a timing and supply and demand reality. Attractive assets are still available, but sellers’ value perception do not easily align with buyers’ return evaluations especially in a strictfinancing context. Nevertheless, Q2 already started strong with landmark office transactions and the pipeline of ongoing deals is strong therefore we expect a robust performance for the investment market by end of the year”, notes Robert Miklo.

Colliers experts remain optimistic about the year’s outlook in Romania’s real estate investment market. Foreign capital inflows into segments such as logistics, hospitality, and mixed-use could drive the performance, but this may depend on realistic pricing adjustments and a sustainable decrease in financing costs. Moreover, political clarity and predictability, now that the presidential elections have concluded, could further strengthen investor confidence.

“Romania has significant strengths: a competitive workforce, strategic geographic position, an attractive stock of assets, and consistent demand in certain sectors. However, to resume a steady pace of transactions, we need both a predictable fiscal and political environment and favorable external conditions”, adds Simina Niculiță, Partner | Head of Retail Agency at Colliers.

The market presentation held by Cushman & Wakefield Echinox during CEDER 2025, featuring Vlad Săftoiu (Head of Research) and Cristi Moga (Head of Capital Markets), outlined Romania’s significant economic developments and future potential. The presentation, structured around four pillars and focusing on five-year periods, highlighted positive trends across macroeconomics, infrastructure, finance, and the real estate market.

Macroeconomic data illustrates substantial progress since Romania joined the EU. The GDP has grown from less than €100 billion in 2006 to €354 billion in 2024. The five years preceding the pandemic saw impressive growth, the highest in the region and among the highest in the EU. Despite recent global challenges (“black swans”) like the pandemic and war in Ukraine, Romania has performed well and is expected to continue on this positive path. Inflation is forecast to decrease. Average net income has surged, from around €250 per month in 2006 to almost €1100 last year, projected to exceed €1200 this year. By the end of the decade, the average wage could approach €1700-€1800 nationally, and exceed €2000 in Bucharest. This shift suggests Romania is becoming more of a “white-collar destination”.

Foreign investment has been strong, with over €5-10 billion entering the economy in the last 6-7 years. The Nokian factory in Oradea, a large Greenfield development, exemplifies this trend, although investment has slowed in the last two years.

A notable shift is seen in population trends: after over 30 years, Romania recorded a marginal increase in resident population in the last two years, with 25,000 people arriving for work, including Romanians returning and foreigners. While the birth rate remains low, the country maintains an educated labour force with over 100,000 graduates annually.

Significant infrastructure progress was highlighted. After years of limited development, over 200 kilometres of new highways were delivered last year. With over 700 kilometres currently under construction, the network could expand to nearly 2000 kilometres in the next five years. Air passenger traffic has also doubled over the last decade, leading to overcrowding at Henri Coandă International Airport, which plans a new terminal to double capacity by 2040.

Financially, Romania has access to substantial European funds, with around 85% of the 2021-2027 multi-annual exercise still to be absorbed, alongside funds from the National Resilience Programme. State aids of approximately €1 billion per year are also available. Romanian banks are described as very well-capitalised, with a clients’ loans-to-deposits ratio of 63%, significantly lower than the EU average, indicating ample liquidity. Although the banking sector is considered underdeveloped relative to GDP compared to regional peers, non-performing loans are low at 2.5%, in line with CEE, suggesting Romanians and companies are good payers.

The real estate market in the CEE region saw investment volumes of around €9 billion last year, expected to exceed €10 billion from 2025 onwards, recovering from a dip in 2023. Romania’s market typically sees around €1 billion in transactions. Yields are stabilising, though Romania still has a gap compared to countries like the Czech Republic or Poland. The industrial sector has been the best performer in the last decade, with Romania’s stock quadrupling since 2014 to 7.8 million sqm. Despite this growth, density is low compared to peers, suggesting significant potential driven by consumption. Bucharest’s office stock has doubled since 2012 and is the youngest in the region. While investments slowed due to hybrid work models, increasing metro usage indicates more employees are returning to offices. The retail sector is also set for growth, with a high pipeline of projects set to increase density from a currently low base compared to other CEE countries.