MAS Real Estate has entered into a sale and purchase agreement with PKM Developments, a joint venture established together with Prime Kapital, to acquire a portfolio of retail centres in Romania for circa €113m.
The deal allows the company to enhance its footprint in CEE, it said of the acquisition.
The portfolio comprises Roman Vale Centre, an 18,808 sq m GLA, Carrefour-anchored retail centre that opened in November 2018 with approximately 159,000 residents within a 30-minute drive and no direct competition within the catchment area; Baia Mare Value Centre that opened in December 2018, a 21,318 sq m GLA centre, also anchored by Carrefour; and a portfolio comprising seven further value centres each adjacent to a Kaufland supermarket, totalling 27,833 sq m of GLA completed throughout 2017 and 2018.
In total the nine assets comprise 67,959 sq m of GLA and are expected to deliver €8.15m of annual net operating income. Three of the centres have the potential to be extended and already have zoning approval.
Romania recorded a 4.2% GDP growth year-on-year during the first nine months of 2018, with industrial production and the agricultural sector having the largest contribution to this increase, according to figures from Cushman & Wakefield.
Retail sales remained on a positive trend, but growth rate has declined somewhat when compared to the last two years, when double-digit growths have been recorded. The National Institute of Statistics has reported a 5.6% retail sales growth during the first 11 months of 2018, compared to the same period of last year.
The unemployment rate is still one of the lowest in the EU, reaching 3.9% in November 2018, whereas the average net income saw a robust 13.3% increase in November 2018 when compared to November 2017.
RPA Perspective Retail projects with a cumulated GLA of almost 90,000 sq m were delivered in Q4, as NEPI Rockcastle opened the first shopping centre in Satu Mare, while Prime Kapital continued its strong expansion in Romania via three retail park openings in Baia Mare, Roman and Slobozia.
The Portuguese developer Sonae Sierra purchased Caelum Development’s 50% share of the ParkLake shopping centre in Bucharest, taking full control of the scheme. Moreover, Prime Kapital was also active on the market as it bought the Atrium Arad 28,600 sq m GLA project from Granit Polus for €41m Omer Susli, the owner of the Homelux Home&Deco retailer, purchased a 50% share of the Bistrita Retail Park.
Retail sales are expected to maintain a positive performance going forward, while in terms of supply, developers will add new schemes or major extensions mainly in secondary and tertiary cities, such as Timisoara, Sibiu or Satu Mare.
In Bucharest, the extensions of Colosseum Retail Park and Veranda Mall are expected to be delivered by the end of the year. The second IKEA store in Romania, whose opening was postponed, is also expected to be delivered in H1 2019.
