The Board of Directors of EPP N.V., the largest owner of retail real estate in Poland in terms of GLA listed on the stock exchanges in Johannesburg and Luxembourg, has announced that it will nominate Tomasz Trzósło for appointment as CEO to succeed Hadley Dean, whose term of office is due to expire. Tomasz Trzósło is expected to assume his role in May 2020. The appointment is subject to approval by the general meeting of shareholders.

Two retail parks in the Czech portfolio of the Focus Estate Fund end their year with zero vacancy: Most Retail Park (GLA – 6,471 sqm) in the city of Most and Centro Ostrava Retail Park (GLA – 7,699 sqm) in the city of Ostrava.

CBRE represented Adventum International in the acquisition of the KöKi Terminal shopping centre in South Pest. CBRE also provides property management and exclusive retail leasing and advisory services for the €18 million (6 billion HUF) renewal project of the 66,000 sqm GLA shopping centre

Mitiska REIM, in association with its Romanian country partner Square 7 Properties, has accelerated its investment in Romania during 2019 and announced the opening of its latest retail park development in the city of Braila in the east of the country.

Irish clothing chain Primark‘s long-anticipated market entry into Slovakia has been confirmed as the company has signed a lease agreement with Eurovea. At the same time, the shopping centre has announced that it reached 70% occupancy in the forthcoming extension. Cushman & Wakefield facilitated the transaction.

Local investor DRFG, through its Czech Real Estate Investment Fund, has acquired the Olomouc CITY shopping centre from Mint Investments. With this acquisition, DRFG manages the first primarily leisure-oriented property in its portfolio.

Trei Real Estate GmbH, a property developer and property asset holder of residential and retail real estate with activities across Europe, develops its sixth retail park of the Vendo Park brand in the Czech Republic. The property is located in the small town of Mnichovo Hradiste, which lies around one hour’s drive north-east of Prague. The total investment costs add up to €2.6 million and the completion is scheduled for Q2 2020. The company plans to keep the asset in its portfolio long-term.

Flow East announced the topping out of its landmark project being constructed on Wenceslas Square (Václavské náměstí) as contractor Metrostav placed the last beam atop the structure.

According to the latest RICS Commercial Property Monitor, occupier and investment sentiment remains positive across main CEE markets, even though the Czech Republic has posted its most subdued set of readings in four years. In many countries, demand for retail assets fell on both the occupier and investment sides of the market. Based on rental and capital value projections, secondary retail is visibly suffering in Austria, Bulgaria, Poland and Romania.

ProperGate has signed a cooperation agreement with CFE. The intelligent logistics management system, developed by ProperGate, will be pilot tested at the construction site of one of the biggest retail centres in the Mazury district.