Business Review

Romania has an absolute funding gap of USD 2 billion, which stands for 6 percent of its invested stock, according to a recent research by DTZ. The debt funding gap stands for the difference between the existing debt balance and the debt available to replace it. The gap represents approximately 6 percent of its invested stock. By the relative funding gap, Romania ranks third, after Ireland with 19 percent and Hungary with 8 percent.

Real estate consultant Ilias Papageordias has launched a campaign to promote professional and social responsibility in the local real estate industry. 

Dinu Patriciu Global Properties (DPGP) has sold its Karolinen Fasitigheter AB Sweden portfolio to Hemfosa Fastigheter.

Although a well established business in Western economies, self storage is a relatively new service in Romania. One year after starting operations locally, Danu Temelie, managing partner of EuroMiniStorage, the first and so far only self-storage facility in the country, talked to BR about how the company is challenging local consumers’ lack of awareness of the service and the insolvency case it overcame.

Simona Bazavan

Colliers International & DTZ Echinox have been appointed co-exclusive leasing agents for the commercial projects of Real4You in Romania, developed in Bucharest, Targu Mures, Satu Mare and Focsani.

Real4You Group will develop several shopping centers in Bucharest and throughout Romania, in cities such as Satu Mare, Foscani and Targu Mures, branded as Mega Mall. A 70,000 sqm will be developed on the site of the former Electroaparataj plant, in Pantelimon neighborhood. The countryside shopping centers will have between 18,000 sqm and 22,000 sqm each and will be anchored by a hypermarket or a supermarket.

Jones Lang LaSalle announced it secured the property management mandate of the Swan Office & Technology Park located in the emerging Pipera North business district.

Swan Office & Technology Park is an institutional standard business park which provides excellent office accommodation to its potential tenants. The business park offers approximately 28,000 sqm in three buildings and up to 520 parking places.

Shopping center developer, manager and owner Sonae Sierra is hoping to begin its Adora Mall project in Craiova this year. It will be the company’s first greenfield project on the local market after it started operations here in 2007 by acquiring River Plaza in Ramnicu Valcea. Ingo Nissen, managing director of Sonae Sierra in Romania, told BR about some of the developer’s plans for the local market.

Simona Bazavan

Fashion retailers, hypermarkets and supermarkets, and entertainment space operators were some of the most active firms in their expansion plans last year, taking up a significant part of the retail property space. Meanwhile the past year has seen some firsts for the local market, like the first public auction sale of a mall, as well as the long-awaited market entry announcement of Swedish clothing retailer H&M.

AMB Property Corporation and ProLogis announced a definitive agreement to combine through a merger of equals, creating the pre-eminent global owner, operator and developer of industrial real estate. Combined, the companies are expected to have a pro forma equity market capitalization of approximately USD 14 billion, a total market capitalization in excess of USD 24 billion, and gross assets owned and managed of approximately USD 46 billion.

In a long-term contract, Immofinanz and EHL Immobilien have confirmed their existing cooperation in the area of asset and centre management for a significant portion of the real estate portfolio of the Immofinanz Group in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe.