South African fund Hystead has acquired of The Mall, one of the largest shopping centres in Bulgaria, located in the capital city Sofia. The acquisition, upwards of €156 million, represents the fourth investment in the region by Hystead Limited, a joint venture between Hyprop Investments and Homestead Limited, who previously acquired the Delta City shopping centres in Podgorica and Belgrade alongside Skopje City Mall in Macedonia at the end of 2016. 

Erste Group officially opened the Sirius Offices business complex in Belgrade for tenants who are expected to enter the building soon. Erste Bank Serbia is the first tenant to move into the new business complex, which will become its main business centre in Belgrade. Beside Erste Bank, Strabag d.o.o Beograd has been secured as a second large anchor tenant, renting 4,000 square meters office space. The first phase of the investment is worth €40 million and the complex occupies an area of 18,500 square meters gross of office space. Besides office premises, Sirius Offices includes a restaurant, a shop and 230 parking places.

Through its subsidiary NEPI has concluded agreements to acquire the Serdika Center and Serdika Office buildings in Sofia, Bulgaria for €207.4 million.

Occupier and investment sentiment continues to be positive across Central and Eastern Europe according to the RICS Commercial Property Monitor for Q1 2017. Similarly to last quarter, Hungary remains the most upbeat market globally with the Czech Republic also performing remarkably well. The picture is slightly more mixed in Croatia and Romania, still, near term momentum remains positive in the two markets.

"The aggregate value of the investment involving several different investors is estimated at €150 million", said Marcus Wild, CEO of SES Spar European Shopping Centers, which will manage and own the newest shopping centre in Slovenia. This will grow in Šiška, the most densely populated district of Ljubljana, by the autumn of 2019. The construction work is already starting in June 2017.

According to a summary of Q1 2017 results, NEPI made progress with planning and permitting for several developments and extensions, including those in Galati, Novi Sad and Ramnicu Valcea. Further to the receipt of certain approvals, Victoriei Office in Bucharest is expected to receive permitting for the internal fit-out during the next quarter, enabling tenants to start operations in the fourth quarter of 2017. Zoning and permitting for the Promenada Mall extension continue to experience delays. 

Swissôtel, part of AccorHotels, has entered into a franchise agreement with Al Shiddi International for the development of a new 218-room urban resort scheduled to open in early 2018. Situated next to Bosnian Parliament, within the mixed-use Sarajevo City Center project, consisting of shopping mall and office tower, Swissôtel Sarajevo will be located in the Bosnian capital’s centre.

MAS Real Estate, a commercial property investor, developer and operator listed in both Johannesburg and Luxembourg, announced the acquisition of two shopping malls in Bulgaria, for €62 million. The malls have been acquired from Globe Trade Centre and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The Galleria Burgas Mall and the Galleria Stara Zagora Mall and are located in the Bulgarian cities of Burgas and Stara Zagora, respectively.

Cushman & Wakefield has renewed and rebranded its exclusive arrangement with Forton as its affiliate in Bulgaria and Macedonia. The formal affiliate appointment follows the 2015 global merger of Cushman & Wakefield and DTZ. Forton has been Cushman & Wakefield’s partner since 2006. From today, Forton will rebrand as Cushman & Wakefield Forton.   

2016’s record-breaking €12.2 billion investment in the real estate sector in the CEE region is likely to be surpassed in 2017 – this is according to CEE Real Estate Investment Compass 2017 published by Colliers International and CMS. The sources of investment flows into the CEE region are also expected to remain diverse in 2017, with Asian and CEE investors becoming increasingly active in the real estate market.