The $20m sale of the Militari Shopping Center project to Austrian group Meinl European Land Limited points to the growing confidence of investors in the Romanian real estate market, said representatives of Liebrecht&wooD, the Belgian company that developed the project. The company made its first official comments two months after the Austrian group communicated details of the transaction to its shareholders.
"After having worked for ten years on the Polish market, the acquisition of Militari Shopping Center by Meinl European Land is one of our greatest achievements as a project developer in Romania," announced Johan Rogiers, general manager of Liebrecht&wooD Romania.
Peter Weinzierl, a member of the Board of Meinl European Land, considers Militari Shopping Center to have been the best possible investment from a financial, technical and legal point of view. "We expect to see the Romanian economy grow in the next few years, and the project's capacity for expansion opens up many attractive perspectives," explained Weinzierl.
According to Liebrecht&wooD officials, the transaction is particularly important since the project's profitability rate is 11 percent, taking into account the net price of rent.
Militari Shopping Center, which takes its name from a nearby neighbourhood, includes space for large stores (1,000-10,000 square metres). At the moment the complex has two tenants: Praktiker (the DIY division of German group Metro) and Domo (one of Romania's largest retailers of electronic and home appliances). A cash & carry store of German group Metro is located close by.
The total area set aside for retail activity can, according to the developer, be expanded in future from the current 11,500 square metres to 55,000 square metres.
The transaction signed by Liebrecht&wooD and Meinl European Land is the first such deal made on the commercial segment on the Romanian real estate market. Until now, the largest contracts to be signed were for acquisition of office buildings (the purchase of Opera Center and Europe House in 2003 by the Austrian investment funds CA Immo and Europolis for around $30m) and business parks (the acquisition of Iride Business Park in the first half of this year by the Austrian investment fund Immofinanz for $35-40m).
ionut.bonoiu@zf.ro
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