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. 

€1280 million was invested in commercial real estate in the Czech Republic in the first quarter of 2017. This is the largest ever amount of investment registered for a first quarter. The result is mainly attributed to three major transactions: the sale of the Letňany Shopping Centre the CBRE GI portfolio and the change of the Olympia Brno owner. The Czech National Bank’s exit from currency interventions should not slow the strong demand for commercial real estate down.  

Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) listed Polish property group Echo Polska Properties (EPP) raised approximately ZAR2.2 billion (around €150 million) in an accelerated bookbuilding through the placing of app. 119 million new shares at a price of ZAR18.50 per share. Capital will be used to previously announced acquisitions and for further M&A opportunities in the retail segment within Poland.

CPI Property Group announced that its subsidiaries have acquired a retail portfolio with the value of approx. €650 million consisting of predominantly 11 shopping centres located in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Romania with a total leasable area of approximately 265,000 sqm from two funds managed by CBRE Global Investors. The closing of the deal was completed on 29 March, 2017. 

Echo Polska Properties NV (EPP) and Echo Investment are buying Galeria Młociny in Warsaw from Rosehill Investments. The companies will pay nearly €42 million (including the liabilities of the company being the subject of the transaction) for the project which is already under construction.