GTC Serbia announced that it has managed to secure lease agreements with several new brands for its latest Belgrade development, Ada Mall. The opening of the 34,000 sqm mall is scheduled for autumn 2018.

Ikea has started the construction of its second store in Romania, which will be finished in H2 2018 following an investment of approximately €86 million, which includes the acquisition of the land.

CBRE has been given a new mandate for the management of a retail, office and residential building in Wenceslas Square in Prague, where Van Graaf department store is the majority tenant. The change of the building manager occurred as part of its sale. The new owner is a fund managed by BMO Real Estate Partners, part of the Bank of Montreal.

Aberdeen Asset Management has sold the King Cross shopping centre in Zagreb to SES Spar European Shopping Centers. The transaction price has not been disclosed.

TK Development has received the construction permit for building Outlet Arena Moravia. It will rise in the vicinity of the centre of Ostrava, lying immediately adjacent to the D1 Motorway, on a vacant lot in Hlucinska Street (in the proximity of two traffic arteries, with approximately 60,000 vehicles passing every day).

The Openville Timişoara development, the largest mixed-use project in the west of Romania will be opened in the fourth quarter of next year, upon completion of the first phase of development. The project that integrates the current Iulius Mall Timişoara will comprise office, retail, park and entertainment uses, and is developed by the IULIUS and Atterbury Europe companies.

Soaring rents have seen London’s New Bond Street rise to become the world’s third most expensive retail street, while New York’s Upper 5th Avenue and Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay retain their first and second place rankings, according to Cushman & Wakefield. Prague’s Na Příkopě Street has improved its position from last year’s 23rd to the current 22nd in a chart of the 68 most expensive high streets.

Continuing the ownership consolidation program started two years ago, Peter Munk, a Canadian businessman, was bought out of Granit Polus. In the new ownership structure, Sándor Demján and his direct management are the majority owners of the group of companies. Sándor Csányi remained as minority owner.

On behalf of one of its investor clients, Redevco, a pan-European retail real estate investment manager, has acquired the neo-renaissance and secession-style City Palais building in the heart of Prague. The retail property was purchased for more than €40 million from a group of private investors.

Robust GDP growth, wage rises and price inflation are the drivers of retail sales across the CEE region, says Colliers International in its latest research report. Key findings of the report include: