Maxim Shkolnick, General Partner at CEE-based retail investor Focus Estate Fund talked to Property Forum about recent acquisitions in Poland, the Covid-driven evolution of the retail market and the astonishing popularity of convenience centres among investment funds.

Lidl, the discount grocery chain, plans a store on Prague's Na Příkopě street. It will use the premises of a historic building, the former headquarters of the Czechoslovak Commercial Bank. The grocery store will be located next to the Hamleys toy store. Lidl expects to open a new store in the middle of the year, the Czech News Agency (ČTK) reports. Na Příkopě Street ranks around 20th in Cushman & Wakefield's ranking of the world's most expensive streets.  

Property investor Omer Susli has purchased River Plaza Mall in Râmnicu Vâlcea from Sonae Sierra for an undisclosed sum.

Hungarian investment and property management company Indotek Group has launched 16 energy efficiency projects with a total worth of €1.4 million (HUF 500 million) to modernize its shopping centres and office buildings.

Opened in September 2021, the Norblin Factory is filling up with tenants. The project’s investor, the Capital Park Group, has signed lease contracts with another six concepts which will soon join the revitalised complex at Żelazna Street. The office space of the multifunctional building was already fully leased last year.

The flagship adidas store in CEE will be located on several floors of the Sawa building in Warsaw, in the very centre of the capital. This store will be the brand’s largest and newest concept in CEE.

Colliers published a survey of the Czech commercial real estate investment market for Q4 2021. It shows that the volume of investments fell for the second year in a row in 2021, although sales were 8 percent higher year-on-year in the last quarter. The largest investment in Q4 was the sale of the Generali headquarters in Prague with an area of 36,000 sqm.

The fourth quarter was one of the best in recent history, with property deals in Romania at €342 million, compared to €40 million in the same period of last year, according to real estate consultancy Colliers. The overall investment transactions volumes edged close to €900 million, which is roughly similar to the result of 2020. 

Karol Pilniewicz, Chief Investment Officer of Futureal Investment Partners talked to Property Forum about entering the investment market, the condition of the retail sector after two years of pandemic restrictions and current financing conditions.

The 8000th store of the Żabka chain was opened on February 10th. The facility is located in the area of Sieraków, a town located on the edge of the Notecka Forest, between two lakes: Jaroszewskie and Lutomskie. It is the first Żabka store in this town, run by a local franchisee.