The recently merged Austrian group Immofinanz has confirmed the purchase of 85% of the Polus Center Constanta mall project in Romania from Budapest-based developerTrigranit. Although financial details were not disclosed, the property is said to have been sold for a nominal sum of EUR 1 and the assumption of EUR 40 mln of debt.
The recently merged Austrian group Immofinanz has confirmed the purchase of 85% of the Polus Center Constanta mall project in Romania from Budapest-based developerTrigranit. Although financial details were not disclosed, the property is said to have been sold for a nominal sum of EUR 1 and the assumption of EUR 40 mln of debt.
The centre is expected to offer 50,000 m2 of retail space on completion in the first half of 2011. It will include 200 shops, including an Auchan hypermarket, a multiplex cinema and 2,200 parking spaces in the largest regional centre on the Romanian Black Sea shore.
According to news reports in the local press, Immofinanz has had an option to acquire the centre since 2007, and initially negotiated a price of EUR 185 mln for the entire centre. Construction of the scheme started in September 2007 and is expected to cost around EUR 140 mln.
'I am glad that we reached an agreement with Trigránit on this project because Immofinanz Group considers Romania a strategic point on its map. Polus Center Constanta is an attraction for residents in Constanta, but for many others because the city is an important tourist destination and Romania's largest port city,' said Manfred Wiltschnigg of Immofinanz, which holds a 25% stake in the Hungarian property developer.
Also in Romania, this week's auction of Mivan Group's Tiago Oradea shopping centre failed to raise investor interest. The centre was being sold by administrators Transylvania Insolvency House for a starting price of nearly EUR 36 mln. Colliers International had carried out the valuation of the asset on behalf of UniCredit Tiriac Bank, the main creditor of the Irish Mivan Group.
