Without a doubt, the pandemic has brought many changes for the retail market but many developers see this as a time for trailblazers. Christoph Andexlinger, Chief Operations Officer at SES Spar European Shopping Centers discussed with Property Forum the effects the pandemic had on the company’s operations and shared some details about future plans.

Dino Polska opened 59 new stores in the first quarter of this year, compared to 16 y/y. At the end of March 2021, the chain consists of 1,532 stores, compared to 1,234 a year earlier.

Retailer Penny, controlled by German group REWE, will install photovoltaic (PV) panels on the roof of its warehouses in Romania. The renewable energy systems will be implemented in Turda and Ștefănești.  

Polish developer Cavatina Holding, which has been active in the regional cities of Poland, has recently announced plans to go public. Rafał Malarz, CEO of the company talked to Property Forum about investing in large mixed-use projects, the future of the PRS sector in Poland, possible changes in the retail and office markets and shared some details about the upcoming IPO.

Romania has development potential for retail projects in smaller cities, and five counties with a combined population of 1.8 million inhabitants are not covered by any modern retail schemes, according to a report by real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield Echinox. 

Real estate investor and developer GTC has appointed Ziv Gigi as Managing Director of operations in Romania. He has more than 15 years of experience in Central and Eastern Europe-based real estate markets, developing and operating dozens of projects in the office and retail segments.  

Hungarian developer Wing is set to start renovation works on the EuroCenter shopping centre in Budapest in the spring of 2021 with reopening scheduled for the spring of 2022. In addition to the international fashion brands, the shopping centre will offer its future visitors a diverse range of services, a renovated cinema, culinary experiences and a roof garden.

German real estate investor Peakside Capital has completed the disposal of the last properties in its portfolio of 72 small retail assets in the Czech Republic.

Henley Investments, a private equity real estate firm based in the UK, has purchased its first Polish shopping centre, Galeria Pestka in Poznań, from a global investment manager.

The hunt for logistics properties is intensifying, many investors are looking for strip malls and specialised stores, new and premium office buildings are increasingly leaving obsolete ones behind. Commercial real estate advisor VLK Cresa summarised the last few months on the Hungarian property investment market.