Real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield Echinox has been appointed as the exclusive agent for the development and implementation of the leasing strategy for the Jumbo Center retail project in Bucharest, with a leasable area of 25,700 square meters. The center is anchored by a Jumbo store, which opened on October 25.

“Through this exclusive agreement, Cushman & Wakefield Echinox is actively involved in shaping the leasing strategy of Jumbo Center, transforming it into a modern retail destination in the heart of Bucharest, designed to serve the entire family. The project has significant potential due to a combination of factors that make it an attractive location, both for retailers and consumers. Therefore, we believe that retailers who will take advantage of these opportunities can benefit from a diversified and continuously growing customer base,” said Dana Radoveneanu, Head of Retail Agency Cushman & Wakefield.

“We consider Jumbo Center’s collaboration with Cushman & Wakefield Echinox essential to ensure that the center will attract the right mix of partners who share the same vision of offering value and accessibility to all its visitors,” adds Apostolos Vakakis, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Jumbo.

The real estate investor Argo Group, controlled by the largest bank in France, BNP Paribas, and its founder, the Cypriot Andreas Rialas, is preparing to exit the Romanian real estate market, after in 2011 it had become the largest owner of malls in the country.

Shopping centers owned by the investor – Shopping City Sibiu, Shopping City Suceava, Era Shopping Park Iași and Era Shopping Park Oradea – combined a rentable area of 243,000 square meters.

The group’s most important asset was Shopping City Sibiu, sold in 2016 to NEPI in a transaction of EUR 100 million. This was followed in 2017 by the sale of Era Shopping Park Iași to the Prime Kapital – MAS REI consortium.

The company that manages Era Shopping Park Oradea entered insolvency in 2013 with debts worth around EUR 60 million. After a long period of trying to sell this asset, Argo managed to find a buyer, from which it earned USD 3.2 million.

After the sale of the shopping center in Oradea, Argo was left with Shopping City Suceava, and is now in advanced negotiations with the British giant M Core for its sale, which is equivalent to an exit of Argo from the Romanian real estate market.

Source: Profit.ro

The ARO – Patria block, in the center of Bucharest, will be consolidated with non-reimbursable national funds, announces the general mayor of the capital, Nicușor Dan. In the spring, it was announced that the owners’ agreement had been obtained for the consolidation of the ARO block in the capital, and the expert appraisal works of the building will be initiated.

“We are technically assessing the ARO Block, an emblematic building of the Capital on Magheru Boulevard no. 12-14, which houses the Patria cinema and which, according to older assessments, was classified as Class I Seismic Risk. Built in 1935, the Aro Block was the first modernist building in the Capital, designed by architect Horia Creangă. The owners’ agreement was obtained for the consolidation of this historic monument building, and now the Capital City Hall, through the Municipal Administration for the Consolidation of Buildings at Seismic Risk (AMCCRS), is initiating the expertise works that will last 60 days. The next stage will be the energy audit, and then we will enroll in the Ministry of Development program to obtain the funds necessary for consolidation and rehabilitation”, the mayor said.

The Patria Cinema, an emblematic place for Bucharest and operating continuously since 1935, was closed in 2015 indefinitely, due to the new law that do not allow companies located on the ground floor of buildings with seismic risk to operate.

Source: Profit.ro

British real estate giant M Core is in advanced negotiations to acquire two major shopping centers—Shopping City Suceava and Focșani Mall—along with a portfolio of retail parks in Romania. The transaction is estimated at approximately EUR 100 million, according to industry sources.

Both malls, launched in 2008, represent key assets in the Romanian retail landscape. M Core, one of the UK’s largest commercial property owners with a portfolio valued around EUR 7 billion, first entered the Romanian market last year by acquiring 25 retail parks from Belgian investor Mitiska REIM for EUR 219 million.

As part of its expansion strategy, M Core formed a joint venture with Square 7 in April, tasked with overseeing the company’s growth in Romania. The acquisition of Shopping City Suceava, Focșani Mall, and additional retail parks would solidify M Core’s presence in the region, where it aims to further establish itself as a prominent player in the Romanian retail property market.

Source: Profit.ro