Ikea’s presence is growing rapidly in the SEE region. Construction is underway at the second store in Bucharest and there are further plans for new developments. Viviana Pavel, Real Estate and Development Manager at Ikea South East Europe shared her thoughts on the retail market, e-commerce and the company’s regional expansion.

One United Properties and Auchan Romania plan to invest €100 million in a new mixed-use project in Bucharest called One Floreasca City.

Optim Project Management has assisted NEPI Rockcastle throughout the entire BREEAM certification process for the landmark office project, Aviatorilor 8. The building achieved an ‘Excellent’ level of certification under the BREEAM International 2013 rating scheme.

Vastint Romania was awarded LEED Platinum certification for the first two office buildings of Timpuri Noi Square. The 32,000 sqm office space in the two buildings will soon be completely leased.

What will it take for SEE to attract more foreign capital? Is there enough product available on the market? These are just some of the questions that were asked and answered at SEE Property Forum 2018, a Property Forum and RICS event that attracted over 45 speakers and nearly 300 visitors from 15 countries.

Corinthia Hotels is set to expand its five-star hotel portfolio with the opening of a new luxury property in Bucharest, Romania. Located in the heart of the capital, the former Grand Hotel du Boulevard will open its doors again in December 2019, to coincide with Romania’s National Day.

Alesonor, a Greek-held property development company, plans to invest €100 million in an energy-efficient residential project in the northern part of Bucharest.

Development is booming in almost all segments of the Romanian market, but developers still need to overcome a number of legal and regulatory challenges before they can start building. Then, once construction is complete, they must realise that tenants have become more aware and more “choosey”. Răzvan Gheorghiu-Testa, Partner at Țuca Zbârcea & Asociații and Head of the firm’s Real Estate Practice Group reviewed some of the issues that may arise when developing or leasing a new building in Romania.

The EBRD and ING Romania are joining forces to finance the logistics park CTPark, situated on the A1 Bucharest-Pitesti motorway and 2 km away from the Romanian capital. The financiers have arranged a package of €96 million, of which the EBRD is providing €43.8 million and ING €52.2 million.

Retail space deliveries will accelerate towards 200,000 square meters in 2018, as new projects and extensions are scheduled in ten medium-size towns and cities across Romania, but no significant delivery is scheduled in capital Bucharest this year, according to reports released by Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.