Belgian company Liebrecht & wooD, which owns the FashionHouse outlet-type centre at the exit from Militari, Bucharest toPitesti, has bought some 60 hectares of land in three areas of thecity this year, for which it paid more than 30 million euros of itsown money.
The Belgians, which have sold the retail park Militari Shopping andthe Victoria Park office buildings in Baneasa for some 80 millioneuros over the past few years, are among the few investors whichare now swimming against the tide, buying land when no one believesprices have reached bottom yet.
"We bought 60 hectares of land at the exits from Bucharest forretail projects and for building a new outlet. I can say we paid 60euros per square metre on average. The prices were reasonable, not50% discounts, because such discounts are only offered for poorquality land," Johan Rogers, one of the founders and shareholdersof the Belgian company told ZF.
He says he established closed-end fund Liebrecht & wooDInvestment Fund, in which he got external investors to invest. Thefund will be used to invest in Poland, Russia and Romania, with thestart-up capital exceeding 100 million euros.
"There is so much money on the market, and people do not know howto invest it. As far as I know, savings have never reached thislevel in Europe and bank deposits do not generate satisfactoryyields, while stock markets and bonds are not completely safe.Romania will surely rebound," Rogiers says, explaining his decisionto buy on this market.
People involved in real estate say almost everything on this marketis up for sale at the moment, but there are no buyers. However,transactions are few and far between and Rogiers would not disclosethe names of the owners from whom he bought the land.
"I bought from small owners, investors and development companies.The last few years' problem is that too many people have boughtland and now they are in trouble. We have always been moreconservative," Rogiers says.
Pentru alte știri, analize, articole și informații din business în timp real urmărește Ziarul Financiar pe WhatsApp Channels
