DIY retailer Leroy Merlin has leased two retail spaces in Bucharest with a combined area of 21,000 sqm from the Supernova Group, in a deal brokered by Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.

Danbuiu Enterprises will start in Q2 2024 the development of A1 Shopping Center, a new retail project near Bucharest that will have a value over €10 million. The project is slated for completion in Q3 2025 and will target wholesale and cash & carry retailers.

Local retail chain operator La Cocoș has opened its fourth hypermarket in Brașov. The company has leased 10,000 sqm for the new unit in the Brintex complex, in a deal brokered by Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.

Mendota Invest, OTP Group's subsidiary has received a final building permit for a mixed-use complex at the heart of the Slovenian capital. Construction work will begin in March. The estimated value of the entire investment is more than €350 million. The entire project is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.

The Polish shopping centre market is now considered mature as many retail malls were built in the 1990s and 2000s, that is before the technological boom in energy efficiency and during a period of significantly lower awareness of the issue. A wave of upgrades is coming, but they will not happen overnight due to high levels of refurbishment expenditure required. In the face of rising challenges of energy and heat consumption, experts from Cushman & Wakefield managing a large and highly diverse portfolio of shopping centres and retail parks provide valuable insight into the results of their frequently innovative and low-cost measures.

Repaco Capital has started the construction of Crevedia Retail Park that will be completed in H2 2024 near Bucharest following an investment of €15 million. The project has a leasable area of 12,000 sqm and has already reached an occupancy rate of 80%.

Romania’s retail stock is set to expand by around 90,000 sqm in 2024, of which more than half will be based in Pitești-based Argeș Mall. However, the development pipeline is strong for the 2025-2028 period, with a few large and dominant shopping centres expected to add several hundred thousands of leasable space to the local market, according to Colliers data.

According to the latest quarterly report by BNP Paribas Real Estate Poland, the closing months of last year saw heightened development activity and many retailer debuts on the Polish retail market. Retail parks accounted for 80% of the new retail floor space supply.

NEPI Rockcastle, the third biggest retail real estate company in Europe, saw its net operating income soar 21% to a record €491 million in 2023 compared to the previous year over strong sales of its tenants across the region.

The Dornych project of Crestyl Group replacing the old shopping centre in the neighbourhood of the Brno Central Station has received a building permit.