The office market in Bucharest continues to grow, with 124,000 of modern office space delivered in the first nine months of the year ​​388,000 sqm more in the pipeline, according to Cushman & Wakefield Echinox. The commercial stock of office buildings in Bucharest reaches about 2.9 million square meters with an additional 150,000 sqm of owner-occupied stock.

South African investment fund RMH plans to invest €200 million in the mixed-use real estate project planned around the Romexpo exhibition centre in Bucharest by Romanian businessman Iulian Dascalu and Atterbury Bucharest, the local subsidiary of South African investor Atterbury Europe (which is 37.5% owned by RMH). RMH will own a quarter of the project, according to Profit.ro.

Romanian lender BCR, part of Austria’s Erste Group Bank, has reportedly reached an agreement to sell the Bucharest Financial Plaza office building on Calea Victoriei that served as the headquarters of defunct state lender Bancorex.  The buyer is a German investor and the details of the deal will be announced in early December, Economica.net reports.

German group Metro intends to sell and lease back 9 of its stores in Romania to increase its competitiveness and efficiency and to improve liquidity for new investments and developments. The offer also includes 6 stores in Slovakia.

The stock of modern retail spaces in Romania has exceeded the level of 4 million square meters after the latest deliveries of shopping centres, but the market development pace will slow down in the next period, according to Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.

In the context of the digital transformation growth, Alexandru Boghiu and Radu Gogoașă announce the launch of The Mavers, a digital & tech startup on the real estate market, with an investment exceeding €300,000.

Mitiska REIM has secured a €33 million senior debt facility with Erste Group Bank AG for four Romanian retail parks, representing a combined gross leasable area (GLA) of 30,500 sqm.

CTP has inaugurated a new logistics centre in ctPark Bucharest West for one of the largest retail companies in Romania. Started in December 2019 and finished in September 2020, the new warehouse for Profi Romania became operational only one month after the completion of construction. The warehouse has a total area of ​​56,500 sqm, which can be extended by another 10,000 sqm. CTP’s investment in the project was €29 million (RON 140 million).

Romanian real estate developer One United Properties has announced a capital increase of up to €70 million. Following the General Meeting of Shareholders on 28 September, the capital increase was approved at a €380 million pre-money valuation and up to €450 million post-money valuation.  

How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the property investment market in Romania? What are the biggest challenges companies face these days? Is the wait and see period really over in Romania? Four experts tried to answer these questions and more at SEE Property Forum 2020, a hybrid event organised by Property Forum and RICS. We summarised the highlights of the discussion, moderated by Codrin Matei (Crosspoint Real Estate).