In an exclusive interview with Property Forum, Rüdiger Dany, CEO of NEPI Rockcastle, reflects on the company’s record-breaking year, key investments in retail and green energy and explains why consumer resilience in CEE continues to drive growth. Looking ahead to 2025, he discusses market expectations, omnichannel retail trends, and NEPI Rockcastle’s unwavering commitment to sustainability.

NEPI Rockcastle says it reached a record-breaking net operating income (NOI) of €556 million during 2024, a 13.2% increase compared to the previous year, over strong retailer sales and resilient consumer demand in CEE.

NEPI Rockcastle, the largest owner of shopping centers in Romania, aims to cover its electricity consumption exclusively from renewable sources by the end of 2026.

Nepi Rockcastle has acquired the Silesia City Center mall in Katowice, in the Silesia province of southern Poland for €405 million, in one of the largest shopping centre transactions in Central and Eastern Europe in recent years. The vendors are Allianz (45%), Kamsa Luxco (45%) and Cura Beteiligungsgesellschaft (10%). Silesia City Center extends over 88,400 sqm of gross lettable area (GLA) and is a dominant shopping centre in Katowice, economically one of the strongest cities in Poland, with average spending per capita exceeding the national average by 35%.

The disposable income gap between CEE economies, which are enjoying solid economic expansion, and stagnating Western European countries is narrowing fast. This is buoying consumer spending in markets like Poland and Romania and attracting international and regional retailers to large modern shopping centres that dominate the CEE’s shopping and experience landscapes, while also offering higher margins and lower costs, NEPI Rockcastle’s latest research concludes.

Property group NEPI Rockcastle has purchased a photovoltaic project in Arad County, Western Romania and plans to start its construction in early 2025.

Property group NEPI Rockcastle has posted a 12.3% growth in net operating income to €411 million in the first nine months of 2024 versus the same period of 2023 over higher rents and short-term income. 

Big CEE, a subsidiary of Big Shopping Centers, has purchased Promenada shopping mall in Novi Sad from Nepi Rockcastle for €177 million, in a record transaction for the Serbian retail market. 

NEPI Rockcastle has acquired the 100,000 sqm Magnolia Park shopping centre in Wroclaw, Poland, from Union Investment in an off-market transaction. The sale price amounts to €373 million. Union Investment acquired Magnolia Park in 2017 for the portfolio of the open-ended real estate fund UniImmo: Europa. 

Property group NEPI Rockcastle has priced a green €500 million unsecured long 7-year Eurobond maturing in January 2032 through its subsidiary NE Property.