With the easing of the strict governmental regulations in Budapest, NEPI Rockcastle Group, the owner of Arena Mall and Mammut Shopping and Entertainment Center is starting to get back to its usual operation. The company has introduced further safety measures in their Budapest shopping centres.

Subsequent to NEPI Rockcastle’s previous updates concerning the impact of the COVID-19 on its operations, there have been significant developments around the COVID-19 situation. As governments, national authorities and companies continue to implement rigorous measures, there is a high degree of uncertainty about the impact of this on the Group’s operations. As a result, NEPI Rockcastle withdraws its earnings guidance for 2020 and expects to provide an update when the Group will be in a position to estimate the effects of the current situation reliably.

As it was reported yesterday, the €300 million sale of NEPI Rockcastle’s Romanian office portfolio to AFI Europe has been suspended. In their separate announcements, the buyer claims that the completion of the transaction was impossible due to the COVID-19 related restrictions imposed by the authorities, while the seller insists that these restrictions did not prevent completion. The two companies have not reached a consensus on postponing the transaction’s deadline. NEPI Rockcastle has interpreted AFI Europe’s actions as a wish to cancel the acquisition and is now asking the company for a €15 million compensation.

The €300 million sale of NEPI Rockcastle’s Romanian office portfolio to AFI Europe has been suspended due to the coronavirus crisis, Profit.ro reports.

NEPI Rockcastle provided an initial update concerning the impact of the COVID-19 related government measures on its activities in an announcement dated 17 March 2020. Since that date, the authorities in Romania, Serbia and Croatia have increased the safety measures to contain the spreading of COVID-19. New measures include temporarily limiting the operations of some of its shopping centres’ tenants.

NEPI Rockcastle is donating €150,000 to the International Red Cross Organization aimed for supporting the efforts of preventing the spread of COVID-19. The amount of money will be distributed according to the current medical needs and will be used for the purchase of disinfectant substances or items vital in slowing the spread of the virus. Public awareness campaigns will also be supported.

The area of Budapest’s Arena Mall could grow from its current 42,000 sqm to 60,000 sqm, following the property manager’s application for an extension last December, local daily HVG reports. If the plans are realised, Arena Mall will become the largest shopping centre in Hungary.

AFI Europe N.V. and NEPI Rockcastle announced the conclusion of the transaction for the acquisition of NEPI Rockcastle’s office portfolio in Romania, with a total GLA of 118,500 square meters. The transaction value is in excess of €300 million.

NEPI Rockcastle announced that it will inaugurate Promenada Sibiu on November 14 following an investment of €100 million. The developer will also open a shopping centre in Târgu Mureș in March following an investment of €70 million.

NEPI Rockcastle plans to develop residential projects around the shopping centres it owns in Romania. The company will develop apartment buildings in five cities: Brașov, Bucharest (around Mega Mall and Vulcan), Râmnicu Vâlcea, Satu Mare, and Timișoara.