A good location is the key to success in retail. It may, however, take some time before a suitable store is found for a brand entering the Polish market. Most brands want to open their first stores in Warsaw. That’s why retailers would rather wait than start off somewhere else, says Szymon Łukasik, Head of Retail Department at Cresa Poland.

Atrium European Real Estate Limited has completed the sale of the Atrium Militari shopping centre in Bucharest, Romania to MAS Real Estate Inc. for €95 million, which represents a 9% premium to book value on 31 December 2017.

Tesco and Carrefour have announced their intention to enter into a long-term, strategic alliance. The alliance will cover the strategic relationship with global suppliers, the joint purchasing of own brand products and goods not for resale. It will be governed by a three-year operational framework.

The expansion of Romanian retailer Profi Rom Food SRL site in Ploieşti, Romania is at an advanced stage. The extension construction project is due to complete by September 2018.

Shopping centres remain the dominant retail format on the Polish market. Poland now has more than 420 shopping centres that provide 10.5 million sqm, accounting for 73% of the country’s total retail stock. Retail experts at Cresa Poland analysed the Polish retail market

NEPI Rockcastle announced that, through its subsidiary NRP Shopping Centre Project Two s.r.o., it has signed a binding agreement to acquire 100% of the shares in MLYNY, a.s., being the owner of Galeria Mlyny shopping centre in the city of Nitra in Slovakia from a group of local investors. The aggregate purchase price for Galeria Mlyny was €121.8 million.

AFI Europe Romania finalised the acquisition of a land plot in Bucharest, in the proximity of AFI Park 1-5 and AFI Cotroceni shopping mall, with a surface of approximately 43,000 sqm, in a transaction worth €23 million.

CPI Property Group announced the disposal of five small retail properties located in regional cities of northern Czech Republic, totalling approximately 25,700 sqm.

19 % of all existing shopping centres in the Czech Republic have been refurbished to date. Further revitalizations are yet to be completed, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

Nova Imobiliare announced the €30 million expansion of Colosseum Mall, in the north-western area of Bucharest. Construction is scheduled to start later this year and the inauguration will take place in the first half of 2019.