Romanian developer Iulius and investor Atterbury Europe have secured the largest financing ever granted to a real estate development in Romania, having received a €400m loan for the Rivus Cluj-Napoca mixed-use urban redevelopment project.

The green financing was provided by a consortium of Erste Bank, Banca Comercială Română, the EBRD and BRD Groupe Société Générale. 

The Rivus project plans to redevelop 14ha of a former industrial site into retail, office, culture and entertainment space. The project is estimated to require an investment of over €500m, with the financing primarily focusing on the retail component, representing a total leasable area of 132,500sqm and more than 400 stores.

Marius Perșenea, chief operating officer at Iulius, said: “For Iulius, this loan continues the series of premieres in terms of financing – from the first green loan granted to a Romanian company back in 2021, to the largest real estate refinancing loan in Romania in 2022, and now the largest development loan in the industry.” 

Retail assets are reporting an uptick in activity both on the lending and on the equity side, according to adviser Savills. In the UK, for instance, in the first quarter of 2025 there was a 39.2% increase in high street shop investment to £524m (€621.7m) compared with the first quarter of 2024, and shopping centre investment volumes reached £2bn annually in 2024, the highest since 2017 and significantly above the annual average of £1.3bn achieved over the last eight years. 

“Global institutional allocations to retail have dropped from 28% in 2018 to 11% today, but many investors are beginning to look again,” said Oliver Salmon, director, capital markets at Savills World Research.

Two major shopping centre transactions were signed this week in Europe. They were located in Centro Sicilia near Catania, Italy and Stadshart Zoetermeer in Zoetermeer, the Netherlands. The two malls were sold for €180m and €150m, respectively, to Farallon Capital Management and a joint venture of Wereldhave and Sofidy. 

Adviser JLL this week also launched the sale of a 50% stake in Manchester’s Arndale shopping centre. The 2m sqft mall is being offered for sale at £235m on behalf of former INTU RCF Investors.

More deals, loans and new funds are available below. 

Recently completed deals       
Asset Asset type Location Buyer Vendor Size Price (mln) Key facts
Argyll corporate London Crosstree Real Estate Partners Alpine Grove Partners, the Baupost 25 assets £330 (€394) Argyll is London serviced office business with a portfolio of 25 assets in prime office locations across London.
Selvaag Utleiebolig living Norway KLP Selvaag 1,000 apartments €287 (NOK3300) The portfolio consists of 17 projects with 1,000 modern apartments in attractive locations across Greater Oslo and Bergen.
Centro Sicilia retail Catania, Italy Farallon GWM Group 90,000m² €180 The asset was sold for €145 in 2018.
Stadshart Zoetermeer shopping centre retail Zoetermeer, the Netherlands Wereldhave, Sofidy Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield 59,000m² €150 Wereldhave is investing only a 15% equity stake while retaining full operational control of the asset.
Portfolio of 4 assets retail Burlöv, Sweden Svenska Handelsfastigheter Niam 48,000m² €85 (SEK928) The properties are fully leased to 22 tenants.
Two logistics halls logistics Paris Boreal IM Deka Immobilien 28,000m² €75 The asset is leased in its entirety to supply chain specialist Global Services Automotive.
Nestlé HQ office Barcelona Acciona Igis Asset Management 30,000m² €65 Igis bought the asset in 2017 for €87m.
Mimer 1 public Borlänge, Sweden Nordiqus Diös 13,300m² €61 The asset has been fully leased to Dalarna University since August 2024.
Exe Rey Don Jaime hotel hotel Valencia Genefim Atom Hoteles 25,000m² €50 The 319-room hotel will continue to be operated by Eurostars Hotel Company.
Challenger House hotel London Yoomata Aldgate Property Ltd GPE 74,000sqft £42 (€50) Yoomata Aldgate Property Ltd is a JV between Euragone Investment Management and Mata Capital.
3D retail property retail Stockholm IKEA AMF/AP7 7,400m² €42 (SEK460) The asset is part of the Urban Escape city block.
Ytteråker 2:5 logistics Vansbro, Sweden Logistea Apollo Global Management 36,652m² €40 (SEK433) The newly-delivered asset is fully let to Lyko.
logistics facility logistics Brøndby, Copenhagen Catena PFA Real Estate 25,400m² €38 (DKK385) PostNord is the tenant at the property.
two industrial open storage assets logistics Ickenham and Harefield, UK two corporate owner occupiers Newcore Capital 19.45 acres £22 (€26) The disposals have been made on behalf of Newcore Strategic Situations IV (NSS IV).
light industrial property logistics Mehring, Germany Madison International Realty and StoneVest Hasenkopf GmbH 15,000m² NA The vendor has taken a 15-year lease on the asset, which was sold in a sale-and-leaseback deal.
Mansell Court office London Criterion Capital NA 200rooms NA The asset will be converted into a hotel, which will be branded Zedwell Tower Bridge.
11-12 Hanover Square office London Delancey and Aware Super Aviva Investors and PSP Investments 35,000sqft NA The redeveloped asset was successfully let to tenants including Summit Partners, Pollen Street Capital and New Balance.

 

Assets on the market       
Asset Asset type Location Vendor Size Price (mln) Broker Key facts
50% stake in Manchester’s Arndale shopping centre retail Manchester Former INTU RCF Investors 2,000,000sqft £235 (€279) JLL The centre was completed in 1979 at the cost of £100m.
Project Galaxy - two student accommodation assets living Dublin and Galway EQT Real Estate 724 beds €115 C&W The Galway facility is known as Cúirt Na Coiribe while the Dublin asset trades as Mezzino.
numbers 3 and 5 Custom House Plaza office Dublin Aberdeen 60,606sqft €24 TWM Citco Fund Services accounts for 50% of the total annual rental income of €2.65m.
Hyndland House living Glasgow Aberdeen 174 beds £18.5 (€22) NA Hyndland House is let to Places for People Living+ Limited until 11 September 2035.
former Emmaus Retreat Centre living Swords, Ireland the Christian Brothers 59,574sqft €12 Bannon The centre comprises 72 bedrooms.
Färberwirt Hotel hotel Wildschönau, Austria NA 76 rooms NA Christie & Co The hotel is currently closed and being sold without an operator.

 

Recently completed loans    
Lender(s) Borrower(s) Asset(s) Loan Size (mln) Key facts
Erste Bank, Banca Comercială Română, the EBRD and BRD Groupe Société Générale Iulius, Atterbury Europe RIVUS project in Cluj-Napoca, Romania €400 The green loan will support the construction of RIVUS, a €500m redevelopment that will transform 14 hectares of disused industrial land into a mixed-use district.
Bond investors Mercialys Unsecured €300 The new bond has a 7-year maturity and 4.0% coupon.
Standard Chartered Marlet Property Group, M&G Collage Square in Dublin €238 Standard Chartered acted as sole underwriter, mandated lead arranger, and hedging bank for the green loan facility.
HSBC UK, NatWest, Santander and Barclays Bruntwood UK workspace portfolio £140 (€167) The sustainability-linked loan extends a former £50m facility by a further 12 months to early 2028.
ING Real Estate Realstar and QuadReal Property UNCLE Wembley Gardens residential asset in London £61.6 (€73.4)  
Swedbank Evernord and Novira Capital Novira Plaza Riga business centre €44 These funds will be used to redeem bonds previously issued for the financing of the construction of the property.
L&G Avignon Capital Hilton The Hague €34 The three-year loan facility refinances a prime five-star hotel.

 

Funds on the market   
Firm Fund Strategy Details
Orange Investment Managers Parking Real Estate Fund Investing in inner city parking garages with a long term lease. The company is working on the launch of a new fund with a targeted investment volume of €39m.

Topics