"Meinl has not sold any shopping centre for the 3 and a half years I've been with the company and, as long as yields are above the market average, it will be easy for us to develop our projects. In the Militari area, where we have almost entirely rented our space, we will get a 10% annual yield, which is great for us." This is how Stephan Bonk, Meinl's managing director in Romania, presents the company's financial targets in an interview with BUSINESS Construct magazine.
Meinl has been present locally for four years, since it paid 20m euros for the Militari Shopping Centre project developed by Liebrecht & woodD, but the company's level of activity has been low, with the Austrian company only managing the western Bucharest project and acquiring several land plots - mainly in Arad and Constanta.
"In line with our financial strategy, we have focused on the Polish and Russian markets, where yields have so far validated our choice. In Romania, we have probably narrowly missed the start and it would have been cheaper to build several years ago, but we'd probably not have had the same tenant mix as now," Meinl officials say.
And tenants are one of the strengths of the projects developed by the Austrian company. And finding a "suitable" partner, Austria's Krammer & Wagner, handling the space development and renting process, was another factor that pushed Meinl to cement its foothold domestically.
The company's most advanced project is the Militari centre. The project is due to be finalised next April, with Auchan (included in the project) to open earlier.
The Militari project is developed on a 14.4-ha land plot and will entail additional investments of 70m euros. Construction works were started by French company Herve, which carried out several projects for Carrefour and Auchan. "(...) All the company's consultants and its management consider the project is very well positioned," Meinl representatives add.
Things are quite similar for the project in Arad, as well. Construction works for West Gate will start this autumn and the project will involve 170m-euro investments.
Moreover, the project Meinl is carrying out in southern Constanta, involving 130m-euro investments, posts a similar evolution.
Pentru alte știri, analize, articole și informații din business în timp real urmărește Ziarul Financiar pe WhatsApp Channels
