On Thursday, 11 March, SES Spar European Shopping Centers opened S-Park Kaposvár, a new retail park in Southern Hungary. As a result of a renewed lockdown in the country, only those stores that are deemed essential for the provision of basic goods and services to the population have been allowed to open. These are a 6,800 sqm Interspar store, a 600 sqm dm drugstore and a 150 sqm Ofotért optical retail store. S- As soon as official Hungarian regulations permit, all other stores located at S-Park, such as Hervis, Deichmann, Euronics, Pepco, and Kik will go into full operation. The segment and shop mix, which includes 10 stores, covering a leasable area of 11,200 sqm, will deliver a comprehensive range of brands and services to Kaposvár and the surrounding region.

AFI Brașov has obtained the LEED Gold Green Certification as a sustainable project for using technics and technologies for construction, design, and execution with minimum impact on the environment.

AFI Europe Romania is building a small shopping centre in Bucharest, on the land where the company completed the first phase of the AFI City housing project.

After a year in which the volume of investments amounted to about €900 million, 2021 will not be as rosy. Colliers consultants foresee a total volume for commercial real estate transactions in excess of €500 million. They also see room for a slight decrease in yields by the end of the year for prime office and prime industrial, if the economy, political and monetary system will be satisfactory.

The first year of the pandemic brought many lessons for all entrepreneurs and business executives. With plans and expectations upside down, many companies have had to adapt to new realities, regardless of the field. One of the big winners of the crisis was retail park operators that now plan heavy expansion in the coming years. Property Forum takes a look at Romania’s retail park pipeline.

Etele Plaza has obtained its occupancy permit which means tenants can start building their new stores in the largest shopping centre in the Buda side of Budapest. Developed by Futureal, with an investment value of €300 million and a leasable area of 55,000 square meters, the environmentally friendly building will open its doors in September 2021.

Polish company Scallier has announced that 70% of available space has been leased in its first retail park under the Funshop Park brand in Romania.

Lidl Serbia plans to start the construction of a new, 60,000 sqm logistics canter in Lapovo, a city located approximately halfway between Belgrade and Nis on the A1 highway, in the coming months, local media reports.

There were no new completions on Zagreb’s retail market in H2 2020 but a number of brands have opened new stores, according to a market report by Cushman & Wakefield | CBS International Croatia.

Internationally expanding Hungarian company Indotek Group is looking at new investment opportunities on the Romanian market. Florin Tirla, Country Head Romania & Bulgaria at Indotek Group talked to Property Forum about the company’s plans and shared his expectations for the future of the office and retail markets.