Investment activity in Romania’s property market totaled €98.6 million in the first quarter of this year, up 75% compared to the same period of last year, according to a report by real estate consultancy Crosspoint Real Estate.

Romania’s modern retail stock reached 4.02 million sqm at the end of the first quarter, with the new supply expanding by 19,500 sqm, according to a report by real estate consultancy CBRE. 

People have started to return to their usual shopping destinations. That is reflected in the positive business development of SES Spar European Shopping Centers during the second year of the pandemic. Compared to 2020, significant growth was recorded in retail partner sales, visitor footfall and average spend per purchase. This positive upward trend was recorded by SES in all countries in which it operates centres. Despite the pandemic, in 2021, a total of €22 million was invested in maintenance and sustainable measures relating to the operation of the centres, as well as in project development.

Globalworth has entered into an agreement with Żabka for a number of Żabka Nano self-service stores to open in the company's office buildings in 2022. The first stores have already opened in buildings B and D of Quattro Business Park – a modern office complex in Kraków. The openings of Żabka Nano stores in office buildings represents the latest stage in the expansion of the largest chain of self-service stores in Europe, which already amounts to 41 outlets.

KS Holding, a Kesko Group company, has completed the sale of Kesko-Senukai stores in Vilnius and Daugavpils to the Finnish Special Mutual Fund Titanium Baltic Real Estate. Together with the sale of Riga’s Ozols Centrs, acquired by Titanium in November, KS Holding has brought retail assets valued at €60 million to the market. Returns to shareholders in the recent transactions for the money invested exceed 20% per annum.

Romanian developer Iulius has announced a new urban regeneration project in Cluj-Napoca that will be jointly developed with Atterbury Europe following an investment of more than €500 million. 

Retail investor EPP has recently delisted from the Johannesburg and Luxembourg stock exchanges and announced the sale of certain assets. Tomasz Trzósło, CEO of EPP talked to Property Forum about the rationale behind these decisions, the impact of the war in Ukraine on the Polish retail market and its overall condition in the new, post-pandemic era.

Echo Investment has had another successful year. The obtained net profit of PLN 189 million mainly results from handing over to customers 1,622 apartments built by Echo Investment, as well as 1,128 apartments of Archicom, an increase in the value of office buildings and stronger performance of the Libero shopping centre.

Almost 40,000 sqm was leased in retail and 25,000 sqm in the office segment. From the beginning of 2022, the entire office portfolio fully relies on green energy.

Romania's commercial property market has remained liquid throughout the pandemic period, with total investment volumes reaching €1.83 billion over the 2020-2021 period, up 8.7% versus 2018-2019, according to a report by real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.