16 Nov Mitiska REIM expands its retail park portfolio in Romania
Mitiska REIM, the leading specialist investor in European convenience real estate, has today announced the opening of a new retail park development in Baia Mare and the opening of an extension to an existing retail park located in the Romanian city of Medias.
Developed in partnership with Square 7 Properties, the new Baia Mare retail park has a gross leasable area (GLA) of 8,200m2 and is conveniently located adjacent to an existing Kaufland supermarket, on a main boulevard in the southwest of the city. This new development features a Lidl supermarket as an additional food-anchor and a mix of popular retail brands which include JYSK, Pepco, Kik, DM, C&A, Numero Uno, Tabac Xpress, Sportisimo, Sinsay and SuperZoo. Developed on an urban infill site which was formerly a furniture factory, the site offers parking for 300 cars.
The extension at Medias retail park has increased the commercial area of the site by 8,000m2, to now total 9,000m2. Also developed in partnership with Square 7 Properties, the site is located next to a Kaufland supermarket, with new tenants Altex, C&A, KIK, SuperZoo, Hervis, CCC, New Yorker, Noriel, Sinsay and Tabac Xpress joining existing tenants JYSK, Takko, Deichmann, Flanco, DM and Pepco.
Both the Baia Mare retail park and Medias extension have been designed to achieve a ‘Very Good’ score on the BREEAM scale. Mitiska REIM’s portfolio in Romania now totals 24 retail parks, with 12 properties recently receiving ‘Very Good’ BREEAM ratings. As part of Mitiska REIM’s ESG and sustainability initiatives, a total of 20 Romanian retail parks will have been awarded BREEAM ratings by end of 2021, with the remaining 4 retail parks planned to be assessed in the coming year.
Tomas Cifra, Mitiska REIM’s Investment Director for Central and Eastern Europe, comments: “The new Baia Mare retail park and Medias extension will bring new retail infrastructure to their locations and create go-to destinations for both essential shopping and daily needs. We believe the targeted locations, diversified tenant mix and sustainable approach, in combination with the positive socio-economic trends in Romania, will continue to drive future growth opportunities across the portfolio.”
Sylvie Geuten-Carpentier, Managing Partner of Mitiska REIM, comments: “An existing trend the pandemic has accelerated is that of convenience, as consumers have become more purpose-driven in their shopping and have been choosing retail parks for their needs-based essential spending. The retail park offering, which combines supermarkets for daily groceries in combination with complementary, often value-oriented stores, remains very effective at attracting consumers.”
Both the Baia Mare and Medias developments received construction finance through the senior debt facility arranged with Erste Group Bank AG in March 2020 for the entire Romanian portfolio. Mitiska REIM has secured a pipeline of 3 additional retail park opportunities in Romania for 2022.