One of the most active commercial property developers of Budapest is expanding its portfolio. In addition to several office projects, it started the Hungarian capital’s first retail development in nearly a decade. Tibor Tatár, Futureal’s CEO talked to Property Forum about new projects and the challenges a developer needs to face.

Arena Mall shopping centre in Bacau, a reference for the retail market in the Moldova region, will enter into a comprehensive extension and modernization process that will result in a 60% increase of its leasable area and in the construction of a multi-storey car park.

There is room for online and conventional channel retail to continue co-existing side by side in the short to medium term in the CEE-6 markets, according to Colliers International. The solid further €71.5 billion expansion of retail sales out to 2022, 4.9% growth per annum overall, creates enough evolutionary room for multiple concepts to continue thriving. Conservative growth scenario sees e-commerce in CEE-6 expanding 8.8% per annum from a baseline of €13.1 billion to €20 billion.

Ikea intends to complete the construction of a €50 million retail park in Belgrade by the end of 2020, the company’s CEO for SEE, Stefan Vanoverbeke said.

What is the size of the e-commerce marketplace in the CEE region? How much more might online sales activity grow in the coming years? What are the implications for the demand for the logistics and retail real estate arenas in the CEE-6 countries? The latest research by Colliers International assesses these key questions that will shape the marketplace for real estate space in these sectors going forward. 

Metro Properties, the real estate subsidiary of Metro AG, has sold a property in Poznań with a retail building under a long-term lease to Castorama to French investor Corum Asset Management. The purchase price amounted to €20.3 million.

Futureal Group signed a loan agreement for €150 million (roughly HUF 48 billion) with a consortium led by UniCredit acting as Bookrunner and Facility Agent. UniCredit and Erste Group will finance Buda's biggest shopping centre with equal parts, marking one of the largest shopping centre-related financings in Hungary over the past ten years. The construction of Etele Plaza, with a gross area of 137,000 square meters, is already underway.

Immofinanz has renounced its plans for the construction of a Stop Shop retail park in Braşov citing the lengthy process of obtaining a construction permit. The developer is considering selling the land.

NEPI Rockcastle announced the acquisition of 100% of Mammut 2 and 81% of Mammut 1, which jointly form the Mammut shopping centre in Budapest. The aggregate net purchase price for the acquisition was €254 million, according to the company's statement.

South African real estate investment trust Hyprop Investments has acquired a hypermarket adjacent to its shopping centre The Mall in the Bulgarian capital for €23 million back in June.