29 Jun Mitiska REIM – Our past year in numbers…
Over the past 12 months, we have seen a strong performance across the retail park portfolio and a resilient response to the challenges of the COVID 19 pandemic.
Here’s our past year in numbers…
5 new investments
Within the last year, Mitiska REIM approved 5 new retail park acquisition and development projects to be added to the portfolio, located in Belgium, the Netherlands, Czech Republic and Romania, with several other new investment projects under review. Our approach is to look for opportunities where we can add value through new developments or refurbishment, redevelopment, extension and active asset management of existing assets.
8 exits realised
Following the completion of our value creation plans, we successfully divested 8 retail parks over the past year which realised outstanding returns for the funds, and brings the total number of exits to 14 retail parks. A consequence of the COVID 19 pandemic is a recognition by the market that not all retail is the same, with investors increasingly attracted to the opportunity offered by food-anchored retail parks.
3 new openings
The past year has seen the opening of 3 new retail park developments and extensions, all of which benefited from full leasing and strong visitor numbers as soon as COVID 19 measures permitted. Footfall in retail parks has bounced back strongly, with consumers attracted to the retail park format and further building on the longstanding key success factors based on convenience, essential needs and value for money.
15 projects under development
Currently, we have 15 development projects underway which are scheduled to open in 2021/22 representing a gross leasable area of more than 190,000 sqm. Included in this are new development projects in Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
44 operating retail parks
In addition to projects under development, we now have a total of 44 operating retail parks in the portfolio, representing a gross leasable area of over 440,000 sqm, spanning 11 countries in Western, Central and Eastern Europe. The operating retail parks are progressing well with several having reached core/core+ status.
300 tenants
The attraction of retail parks to retailers has been undiminished through the COVID-19 pandemic, with over 70,000 sqm either let or leases renewed over the past year. Our major tenants include supermarkets Kaufland, Lidl, Albert Heijn, Jumbo and Delhaize, and fast-growing international retail brands such as JYSK, Deichmann, Takko, Pepco and Sinsay.
32 BREEAM certifications
As part of Mitiska REIM’s ESG programme, we now have 32 retail parks being assessed for BREEAM certification in 2021-22. To date, six retail parks have received “Good” or “Very Good” BREEAM in-use ratings. Our new development in Mechelen, currently under construction, is designed to achieve an “Excellent” BREEAM rating.
30 team members
We have continued to grow our team, currently standing at 30 professionals, both on investment operations as well as on the investment platform. The team is complementary in background and experience, speaking over 10 languages and anchored in our key geographic markets.