London Cambridge, Ficon to build 25 malls in Poland

The Polish subsidiary of London Cambridge Properties (LCP) and Berlin-based Ficon Consulting & Real Estate have signed a framework agreement to develop 25 shopping centres in Poland over the next 10 years. Ficon's Polish special purpose vehicle Sunpoint Invest is also a signatory to the deal.

LCP and Ficon say they will not let the global financial crisis derail their plans. 'We have worked for almost one year on the details of this deal,' said Henric Krueger, Ficon's chief operations officer. 'Ficon has a pipeline of five shopping centre projects for LCP in Poland. They will be implemented in the contract with the LCP within the next nine months,' he said.

The joint development in the new agreement will be a modern shopping gallery in a residential area in Gorzów Wielkopolski, Poland. The new 14,000-m² shopping centre with have 70 stores and service units, including restaurants, cafes, a supermarket and underground parking. It is scheduled to open in spring 2010.

King Sturge has been selected as exclusive agent for the EUR 25 mln project. Tatiana Spencer, agency group director at King Sturge, said the scheme will be developed as a mother & child dedicated shopping venue, with free kindergarten facilities.

London and Cambridge Properties is one of the largest privately owned property investment companies in Europe with a portfolio of owned and managed funds totalling approximately EUR 4.5 bn. The portfolio is split between the UK, France, Germany and Poland.

Ficon has been providing project and property development services since 1993. Its core business is the development and construction of shopping centres and strip malls for retailers. The company is active in Poland, the Czech Republic, Rumania, Bulgaria, Russia, Ukraine and Vietnam.