Wood & Company has obtained a loan of €229.5 million, one of the highest amounts in the Slovak real estate market, to refinance the debt of the Aupark shopping centre in Bratislava. The financing will be provided by several European banking groups, all of which have operated historically in Slovakia. 

Yovav Carmi, CEO and Ariel Ferstman, CFO of Globe Trade Centre talked to Property Forum about GTC`s recent acquisitions, the sale of the Serbian office portfolio, coping with COVID-19's long-term effects and their new investment strategy.

Alza.cz and Rohlik.cz are launching a cooperation. Customers of the largest Czech online supermarket can have their purchases delivered to selected AlzaBoxes. The boxes involved are specially adapted to keep the food ordered fresh.

Hungarian developer Futureal will open the food court of the Etele Plaza shopping centre in Budapest this September. The food court will feature a direct connection to the roof terrace, unique interior design and a wide selection of gastronomy options, including many popular quick-service restaurants, cafés and an open kitchen concept.

Trei Real Estate GmbH just opened four new retail parks under the Vendo Park brand in Poland. The retail properties are located in Zielonka in the Masovian voivodeship, Piekary Śląskie in the Silesian voivodeship as well as in Koszalin and Myślibórz, two towns in the West Pomeranian voivodeship. Taken together, the new Vendo Parks have a gross lettable area of around 19,800 square metres and a total of 26 units, including several branches of brands like Dealz or Action which previously had no outlets in these towns and which therefore broaden the local retail spectrum. Overall, Trei invested c. €27 million in these properties.

Austrian real estate group Immofinanz will start the refurbishment of shopping centre VIVO! Baia Mare on June 1. The works on the project located in northern Romania will cover more than 10,000 sqm, which is one third of the total surface of the centre. 

In the 11 shopping streets under the umbrella of the Shopping Street Management (BUM), some 90% of businesses survived the coronavirus pandemic, and the number of stores for sale or rent is decreasing in more and more places, BUM told Hungarian news wire MTI based on its survey carried out at the beginning of May.

The pandemic has caused a lot of change on the market but these changes can easily be viewed as an opportunity for further growth as Jonathan Hallett, Head of Central & Eastern Europe at Cushman & Wakefield demonstrates. He talked to Property Forum about the results of the last year and shared his expectations for the future of work and the CEE advisory market.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has successfully subscribed to a €24.7 million ticket as part of an inaugural five-year €300 million green bond issuance by MAS Securities BV. The firm is wholly owned by MAS Real Estate Inc., an investor and operator of predominantly retail real estate assets that focuses on CEE.

Retailer Penny, part of Rewe Group, has announced a long-term investment program in Romania that includes the expansion of the store network and the development of logistics operations.