Multi Hungary announced its extensive refurbishment plans for Allee shopping centre in Buda, in the most densely populated district of Budapest. Multi will upgrade and renovate the 46,700 sqm shopping centre, while enhancing the tenant mix, interior and exterior design and customer services. Multi will start the execution phase in the second quarter of 2020 and expects to complete most of the work still in 2020.

One of the region’s most active investment managers, Griffin Real Estate has ambitious plans to further expand its portfolio in several market segments, potentially outside of Poland as well. Stanislav Frnka, the company’s Senior Partner has talked to Property Forum at Expo Real about Griffin’s investment strategy and the asset classes they’re exploring.

According to the new CEE research from Colliers International, which looks at entertainment sector in 13 CEE countries, the leisure offer in shopping centres is dominated by multiplex cinemas and fitness clubs, but there are also other concepts that are being added to the mix. Czech consumers spend the most on recreation and culture, the average is €38.23/month. Key findings of the report include the following.

The restaurants and cafes sector (Food & Beverage) in Romania has been constantly growing during the last few years as a result of a robust increase in wages and purchasing power on one hand and also due to the larger number of foreigners that visit Romania for business or leisure. This evolution is also reflected in an increasingly fierce competition of concepts, operators seeking to attract their customers through design and memorable dining experience.

A Europe-wide proliferation of new eating and drinking concepts is driving demand for real estate, according to new research published by Colliers International.

Cromwell has completed the acquisition of all third party investor interests in the Cromwell Polish Retail Fund (CPRF). CPRF contains seven catchment-dominating shopping centres with a Gross Asset Value of approximately €600 million. The centres have an occupancy rate of 96.3% and a weighted average lease term (WALT) of 5.1 years.

Immofinanz has successfully completed the repositioning and modernisation of its VIVO! Bratislava shopping centre. After a renovation period of nearly 12 months during full operations, the opening of the new shops was celebrated today. VIVO! Bratislava now has 170 speciality shops on 36,000 sqm of rentable space, with many new tenants. The food retailer Lidl and the fashion retailer LPP Group have joined as anchor tenants, and the overall offering has been increased by 20 new brands including, for example, Reserved, Mohito, House, Cropp and Sinsay. Immofinanz has invested roughly €25 million in the modernisation and renovation of the facility, which previously operated as the Polus City Center in Bratislava.

The open real estate fund Investika purchased the Galerie Butovice shopping centre located in the popular office area Nové Butovice in Prague 5. CBRE advised Investika on the acquisition.

Over the last decade, the country's retail sector has grown by nearly 40%. The increasing maturity of the sector has changed how new stock is distributed and has motivated landlords to diversify their offer. JLL summarised conditions on Poland's retail market.

Challenges and changes in the retail sector are continuing to impact the dynamics of the European shopping centre market with new research from Cushman & Wakefield showing development activity across the continent is strongly polarised at both a country and city level.