Atrium gives EUR 190m vote of confidence to Prague

Listed CEE retail specialist Atrium is rolling out its expansion plans in Central and Eastern Europe with the acquisition of Palác Flóra shopping centre in Prague. PropertyEU spoke to Atrium about the strategic importance of the EUR 190 mln deal carried out in September.

The deal - the largest real estate transaction in Prague this year - came shortly after closing of Atrium's EUR 171 mln purchase of the Promenada mall in Warsaw and underlines the developer-investor's ambitions in the region.

'We would like to grow fast and right, and by right I mean that we will only be targeting prime assets in key locations in our target countries of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, which we see as the most stable markets in our region,' Rachel Lavine, CEO of Atrium, told PropertyEU in an interview.

'We have three key drivers for growth,' she continued. 'One is the cash reserves we have, two is the low leverage, and number three is development. As growth through development is gradual, our main target is to expand through acquisitions,' she explained, adding that the group is already working on new purchases and hopes to close at least one other transaction by the end of the year.

Atrium is well placed to grow thanks to its low gearing, which at 19% is one of the lowest Loan-To-Value ratios in the industry, as well as its strong equity position. At the end of Q2, the company boasted cash reserves of roughly EUR 210 mln.

The full deal in depth on the Palác Flóra acquisition appears in the November edition of PropertyEU Magazine. Click on the link below to subscribe