Situated in the southwestern city of Sandanski, Kaufland’s first Bulgarian retail park spans over 5,000 sqm. The German retail chain invested over BGN 2 million  ( €1 million) in the outdoor retail area, the company said in a press release.

Square 7 Properties and Belgian investment fund Mitiska REIM will open this week Giurgiu Shopping Park, which has a leasable area of 7,000 sqm. The general contractor of the project was Austrian construction firm Strabag. 

Czech group of real estate funds ZDR Investments has strengthened its position in the Slovak market. The company has acquired a retail park in Topoľčany for its Public fund. The acquisition expanded the Group’s portfolio to 64 properties with a total value of more than €516 million, ZDR announced.

Hungarian investor Appeninn Holding has signed contracts to buy the Kanizsa Centrum shopping centre in the southwestern city of Nagykanizsa and two strip malls (Zone Parks) in Székesfehervar and Zalaegerszeg. By acquiring these commercial properties the firm may comply with conditions made by Scope Ratings and thus hopes to get a higher rating.

Focus Estate Fund has announced the extension of Turawa Park in Opole. The retail park concept will offer a shopping experience with an emphasis on convenience, accessibility, and a unique mix of merchandise.

Cushman & Wakefield has taken over the management of a portfolio of three shopping centres and one retail park in the Czech Republic. Hungarian investment group Adventum Group bought this portfolio from Tesco last year in a unique transaction involving 18 retail projects across the CEE region. Cushman & Wakefield assisted its long-standing client Tesco in the sale and is now managing and exclusively leasing 50,000 sqm of retail in the Czech Republic space for Adventum.

Investors are not in a hurry to buy assets yet, assuming those assets may become cheaper as holders are in trouble. Property Forum asked Kristóf Bárány, Founding Partner of fund management company Adventum Group about their preferences in Hungary and the broader region.

The commercial real estate investment market in the Czech Republic is stagnating. Analysts see the year 2023 as a challenging year. However, the market was dominated by domestic capital last year and there is still a mismatch in the expectations of buyers and sellers, according to a Knight Frank report.

The Czech retail market once again proved its appeal to retail brands, with 38 new arrivals last year. That is the same figure as in 2021 when the influx of 38 new brands was partly the result of the postponement of some entries due to the pandemic. These numbers represent a roughly 50% increase compared to 2019 (22 brands) and 2020 (25 brands), according to the Cushman & Wakefield analysis of the Czech retail market in 2022.

Slovak construction company HSF System SK has completed the general delivery of two more shopping centres in Slovakia. In Kysucke Nové Mesto, which is located in the Žilina region, the shopping gallery Obchodná galéria Naša was opened to the public. In Košice, a new SIKO shopping centre was built.