Assos Capital on the verge of new deals in Southeastern Europe

Assos Capital, the private equity real estate investor focused on Southeastern Europe, is looking at a number of new projects in the region after opening Bulgaria's largest shopping centre in Sofia this month. 'We've got a couple of projects in the pipeline although we have not pulled the trigger yet because we were focusing on the opening in Sofia', founder and CEO Alex Papageorgiou told PropertyEU in an interview.

Assos Capital was launched four years ago to capitalise on retail growth and retailer's expansion into Europe's emerging markets. The investor, which focuses specifically on retail, is planning to step into projects where existing developers are struggling to get financing as a result of changed lending market conditions. 'Now there is a situation where local developers are asked to put up more equity. We can bring the needed capital and provide several thousand m² of pre-let retail space through our strong tenant relationships,' Papageorgiou said.

Despite having its headquarters in Greece, Assos Capital does not have any activity in the country and focuses instead on 'the more attractive markets in Southeastern Europe', where the company feels it has a competitive advantage. 'In the past few years, a lot of the Western European retailers set up franchise joint ventures to operate in the Greek market. Today, when looking for expansion in Southeastern Europe, these large retailers often rely on their Greek counterparts to expand in the region,' he said.

Papageorgiou cites the partnership of the Marinopolous group and Carrefour in Greece and Bulgaria as an example of this strategy. Other retailers using their Greek business partners to expand in Southeastern Europe are Marks and Spencer's, Banana Republic, Starbucks, Gap, Intersport and Ikea.

Next week the company will open The Mall, Bulgaria's largest shopping centre in Sofia. The scheme is anchored by a Carrefour hypermarket and will be 96% let at opening. It features 66,000 m² of gross lettable area across 185 shops, a multiplex cinema, a Gymboree children area, a fitness area and 2,800 parking spaces. Carrefour is the developer of the mall while Assos Capital is the investor. Colliers International is managing and marketing the retail space. In Bulgaria, apart from The Mall, funds managed by Assos Capital have invested in two more office and retail centres in Sofia.