JLL has completed the first phase of the modernisation of the Liberty Center shopping centre in Bucharest, owned by three banks (Alpha Bank, Bank of Cyprus and Eurobank) following the insolvency of developer Mivan Kier. Occupancy rate at Liberty Center has reached 91%, following a €400,000 investment.

NEPI Rockcastle has announced the acquisition of a 200,000 sqm land in Craiova and plans to construct one of the biggest retail projects in the region of Oltenia. The value of the investment is estimated at approximately €110 million and the construction will start after obtaining all the necessary approvals.

Ceetrus has unveiled plans for its Góraszka Project which the developer has dubbed an innovative retailtainment destination with a GLA of 77,000 sqm. It will be a premium location for the inhabitants of south-eastern Warsaw for shopping and spending time with family and friends. The facility is expected to be completed by 2022. Ceetrus is open to cooperating with new investors, the press release adds.

Trei Real Estate GmbH. a property developer and property asset holder for residential and retail real estate, keeps expanding its portfolio of Polish retail parks. The company, which is part of the Tengelmann Group, just opened its 13th retail park of the Vendo Park brand in Poland, this one in the town of Ostroleka. The total investment cost equals c. €3.8 million. The icity has around 52,000 residents and lies roughly a 90-minute ride north of Warsaw.

Cushman & Wakefield has been appointed an exclusive commercialisation agent for the Bawełnianka Shopping Centre in Bełchatów. The owner of the scheme is Krakow-based Gbb Invest Spółka z o.o.

M7 Real Estate has completed the sale of a portfolio of five logistics parks across Hungary, on behalf of M7 Central European Real Estate Fund I (CEREF I).

Nova Real Estate fund, managed by the fund management company Redside, has completed the acquisition of the home improvement supplies store  OBI in Frýdek Místek, from the seller, development company PTO. OBI is a German multinational retailing company founded in 1970. With more than 650 retail stores, OBI is the largest DIY retailer in Europe, and the third-largest in the world. This is the second property with OBI as a tenant in the Fund’s portfolio in the Czech Republic.

Cushman & Wakefield has been appointed as the exclusive agent to commercialise extra space available following the downsizing of its big-box hypermarkets to a smaller compact hypermarket format.

French AEW Europe and Hungarian Indotek Group have concluded an agreement regarding the acquisition of the Promenada shopping centre in Târgu Mureș, Romania. The 50,000 sqm building’s tenants include Auchan, Leroy Merlin, Decathlon, H&M, Cinema City, LC Waikiki, New Yorker, Hervis and Media Galaxy. Indotek Group plans to renovate and modernize the whole building and plans further acquisitions to strengthen its presence on the Romanian commercial real estate market.

User expectations have changed significantly during the past couple of years and this is a challenge that most landlords do not take lightly. Mátyás Gereben MRICS, Country Manager of CPI Hungary talked to Property Forum about the changing needs of office tenants and the shopping centre of the future.