Futureal has sold its Sziget Center shopping mall in Hungary to OTP Property Investment Fund as part of the deal that also saw the purchase of the Skypark office building. After a successful repositioning, the 23,600 sqm center located on the outskirts of Budapest has managed to lure high-profile tenants and tripled its lease income over the last two and a half years.

MAS Real Estate, a commercial property investor, developer and operator listed in both Johannesburg and Luxembourg, announced the acquisition of two shopping malls in Bulgaria, for €62 million. The malls have been acquired from Globe Trade Centre and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The Galleria Burgas Mall and the Galleria Stara Zagora Mall and are located in the Bulgarian cities of Burgas and Stara Zagora, respectively.

14 outlet centres operating in Poland eye the increasing competition which will force numerous of them to undergo qualitative changes, enhance their offer and improve operational performance. Along with increasing wealth of Polish consumers, the premium offer will grow in outlet centres, according to new report “Bargain hunting. Potential of outlet centres in Poland” released by Colliers International and IQS.

Colliers has been appointed by FID Group as the Property Manager of Slovanský Dům and by B.H.Centrum a.s. as the Property Manager of Millennium which forms part of the complex including the Marriott Hotel. Both buildings are prime mixed-use properties situated in the heart of Prague’s CBD.

With an impressive 66% growth of retail sales per capita since 2004, Poland stands second to none in Europe. Over the past five years both the retail stock and the retail sales have been growing steadily at the level of 20% cumulatively, according to an analysis released by Cushman & Wakefield. Forecasts for the next decade show a further 40% growth of retail spending per capita, which demonstrates growing affluence of the Polish society.

Plaza Centers N.V. announced that Belgrade Plaza opened to the public on 20 April. The completed centre is 97% let and expected to be fully leased in the coming months. Belgrade Plaza is the 34th shopping centre built by Plaza and its second scheme in Serbia.

From the beginning of April, BNP Paribas Real Estate Poland will take over the management of four IKEA Centers retail parks located in Poland on behalf of the landlord Pradera. The contract will increase the Polish portfolio of managed properties by more than 140,000 sqm. Ultimately, the international property management business line of BNP Paribas Real Estate will manage 25 properties in eight European countries.

Poland’s retail market is likely to grow by 511,000 sqm of space in 2017, including 388,000 sqm in the shopping centre format alone. JLL summarized Q1 2017 on the retail market in Poland. 

Česká pojišťovna property fund is reportedly buying the Euro and Astra palaces at the bottom of Wenceslas Square, in the heart of Prague, from Czech investor Tomáš Fiala, owner of the Ukrainian group Dragon Capital, E15 reports. 

NEPI is planning to invest €40 million on the development of a new shopping centre in the Romanian city of Satu Mare.