South African-backed New Europe Property Investments (NEPI) has acquired Shopping City Sibiu for €100 mln - the largest real estate investment transaction in Romania so far in 2016.
The 79,100 m2 asset is the largest shopping centre in the Transylvanian city of Sibiu. The vendor, Argo Group, assisted by JLL, said that the pricing 'reflected the quality of the asset, as well as market interest in sizable retail assets including those outside of Bucharest'.
Shopping City Sibiu opened in November 2006 with 41,100m 2 of GLA that comprised an Auchan hypermarket and adjacent gallery, and a DIY store, Leroy Merlin. The centre was subsequently extended by adding a Carrefour hypermarket, fashion and sport brands, a large furniture store and white goods retailers.
NEPI said in a statement that Shopping City Sibiu is the first, and only, modern retail centre in Sibiu, and the largest retail park in Romania. Sibiu has a population of approximately 170,000 and is the capital of Sibiu county which has over 400,200 inhabitants.
Stake in Mega Mall
In the same statement on Tuesday, NEPI announced that it has concluded an agreement with the Austrian development group Real4You to purchase its 30% interest in Mega Mall, Bucharest. NEPI owns the rest of the 75,500 m2 GLA Mega mall, the group's largest development to date. The centre commenced trading in May 2015 in the heavily populated, east of Bucharest. There is a catchment area of 600,000 within a 15-minute drive. The completion of the acquisition is subject to regulatory approval.
NEPI is the largest owner of shopping centre space in Romania, and its previous big deals in the market include buying Bucharest malls Promenada Mall for €148 mln in 2014 and Auchan Titan for €86 mln last year.
The listed fund said it is also expanding in Serbia with the acquisition of a 3.3 ha plot in Novi Sad, the country's second-largest city and located 70 kilometres from the capital Belgrade. NEPI intends to develop a 50,000 m2 shopping centre on the site.
NEPI is a commercial property investor and developer listed on the main board of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange Limited, the regulated market of Bucharest Stock Exchange and the junior Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange.
