The commercialization of Gdańsk’s Galeria Metropolia, which is scheduled to open on 22-23 October, is nearing completion. Fourteen new tenants include fashion stores, cafés and services. Cushman & Wakefield  acted as the agent on the lease agreements.

According to the latest report by JLL, High Street Retail in Prague 2016/2017, the Czech capital is the most attractive destination for expansion of international retailers in CEE and is being considered as the gate when entering this region. Demand for quality space on Prague’s high streets, Pařížská and Na Příkopě, is outstripping supply which is reflected in the current rent rate of up to €190/sqm/month for a notional unit of 100 sqm in a prime location.

Hungarian retail sales and turnover continue to show healthy growth, buoyed by the abolition of the Sunday closing law after barely one year in effect. Retailer demand is unbroken but remains pressed by the lack of available supply resulting in upward pressure on rents. Fashion retailers remained the most active in H1 2016, followed by the footwear and F&B segments which both expanded significantly, according to the latest Retail Market View published by CBRE.

Futureal Group has announced that their latest retail development in Budapest, Etele Plaza is now in negotiations with a number of anchor tenants and they are hoping to confirm the first brands by end of Q1 2017. Located in the south-western part of Budapest, Etele Plaza is expected to attract up to 40,000 shoppers a day. This will be the first large-scale retail development in the Hungarian capital since the opening of Árkád 2 in 2013.

pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank, Helaba and ING Bank have jointly underwritten an investment facility, totalling €163.6 million, to refinance Karolinka, Pogoria and Platan Shopping Centres in Poland. The assets are owned by Rockcastle Global Real Estate Company Limited. The transaction closed in September 2016. pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank, Helaba and ING Bank are acting as Joint Lead Arrangers providing equal portions of the funding, with pbb acting as facility and security agent of the transaction. 

Neinver, a Spanish developer, investor, property and fund manager, has entered into an agreement with Carrefour Polska to manage the Metropolitan Outlet in Bydgoszcz. The outlet centre, scheduled to open in spring 2018 will be the first and only retail centre of this kind in the Kujawsko-Pomorskie province.

ING Bank, pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank and PKO Bank Polski have jointly underwritten and funded a €210 million term loan facility for Magnolia Park Shopping Centre. The refinancing of the mall, which is owned by real estate funds managed by Blackstone and managed by Multi Poland, is one of the largest real estate financing deals to take place in Poland this year. 

Neinver, a Spanish developer, investor, property and fund manager, has decided to enter the Czech market, the eighth market in which the company has a presence. Neinver has partnered with The Prague Outlet to forge a joint venture launching Prague The Style Outlets, the first premium outlet centre in the Czech Republic. Neinver will be in charge of leasing, retail and property management. The joint venture is financed by PPF Bank.

Erbud SA has been chosen as the contractor of the shell of Galeria Libero, which is being developed by Echo Investment in the southern part of Katowice.

In H1 2016, total modern retail stock in Poland rose to more than 13.5 million sqm GLA. The key trends include new shopping centre and retail park openings in cities below 100,000 inhabitants and the growth of the outlet centre sector in agglomerations with 200,000–400,000 inhabitants. Cushman & Wakefield has released its data on the Polish retail market in H1 2016 in its report Property Times: Increased market competition calls for a quick response.