Romania saw 11 new retail projects completed last year, with a combined leasable area of 215,000 sqm, sending the market to a 7-year high in terms of deliveries, according to a Cushman & Wakefield Echinox report.
Retail parks had a 60% share of the projects that were delivered in cities of the likes of Bucharest, Alba Iulia, Arad and Craiova. The total retail stock reached 4.45 million sqm at the end of 2023, with shopping centres holding a share of 54%, while retail parks and commercial galleries had shares of 40% and 6%, respectively.
“Retailers are more demanding than ever in regards to the targeted locations for their expansion plans, mainly looking at prime retail destinations. In this context, the new wave of shopping center developments should attract further new retailers in Romania, while also encouraging the existing players to continue expanding their local footprints,” said Dana Radoveneanu, Head of Retail Agency Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.
During 2023, the agency brokered 26 leasing transactions in 2023, with a combined area of 30,000 sqm, both in Bucharest and regional cities.
Monthly rents were flat at €80-85 per sqm for prime shopping centres in Bucharest, while in regional cities the rents hovered between €50 and €65 per sqm. For tertiary locations, the average stood between €30 and €35 per sqm.
Last year, the largest retail delivery was NEPI Rockcastle’s Promenada Craiova with a leasable area of 80,000 sqm. In the pipeline there are three retail investments with a leasable area of more than 100,000 sqm each that will be completed in the years to come in Cluj-Napoca and Iași.
