European retail real estate firm NEPI Rockcastle has exited the Baltics with the sale of the Ozas shopping centre in Lithuania to Prosperus Retail Property Fund for €200m.

The listed company said the transaction, which will generate €179m in net proceeds, releases capital for redeployment into its core Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) markets, as well as expansion in Spain.

NEPI Rockcastle said the net proceeds are 13% higher than the property’s book value as at 30 June 2026. Over an eight-year holding period, NEPI Rockcastle enlarged the shopping centre from 62,400sqm to 70,600sqm, housing approximately 200 retail units.

Marek Noetzel, CEO, NEPI Rockcastle, said: “Ozas has been a highly successful investment for NEPI Rockcastle from start to finish. We entered Lithuania in 2018 with a clear vision for the asset, and our asset management and leasing teams executed that strategy exceptionally. While Ozas continues to perform strongly, we took the deliberate and disciplined decision to exit the Baltic region as part of our ongoing portfolio optimisation.

“As the leading owner, operator and developer of shopping centres in Central and Eastern Europe, we must continuously allocate capital where we see the strongest opportunities to create long-term value at scale. This transaction reflects a bold but carefully considered move to sharpen our geographic focus and redeploy capital into higher-growth opportunities, including Spain, where we recently made our first investment outside Central and Eastern Europe.”

Anca Nacu, CIO, NEPI Rockcastle, said: “The decision to exit the Baltics is a strategic one. Our competitive advantage lies in owning dominant assets at scale in markets where we have depth, and a single asset in Vilnius no longer fits that model.

“Recycling €179m of net proceeds into our core markets allows us to put that capital behind opportunities with a higher growth contribution.”

Last month, NEPI Rockcastle invested €254m to acquire the MegaPark Barakaldo shopping centre from Le Retail Hiper Ondara, marking its entry into Spain and its first investment outside CEE.

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