Pan-European investor Revetas Capital has sold the Vitantis Shopping Center in Bucharest to Praktiker Real Estate Romania.
Financial details were not disclosed.
The 38,000 m2, multi-let asset was divested by the Revetas Capital Recovery Fund I following the successful repositioning and revival of the retail scheme into a large scale neighbourhood centre.
Said Radu Boitan, head of investments at Revetas Capital: 'Vitantis Shopping Center was one of the most ambitious investment exercises we undertook in 2014 and a showcase of a successful turnaround of a “first generation” shopping centre located in one the most competitive submarkets of the Romanian capital city.
'During the holding period, we navigated one of the most challenging decades for retail as an asset class, additionally intensified by the dynamics of the following economic downturn initiated by the global financial crisis and the massive traffic and operational restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic.'
The centre now focuses on home, convenience and grocery products, and features well-established domestic and international retail operators on long-term leases.
Situated in sector 4 of Bucharest, one of the most densely populated areas of the capital, it was one of the first shopping centres opened in this part of the city.
Boitan concluded: 'The sale of Vitantis sets a new benchmark in the market as the first retail transaction in Romania to be completed post-Covid-19 in an open market process, following a record breaking lease-up program to a mix of successful retail operators to which we are grateful for their trust and partnership.
'The transaction is a proof of maturity and resilience of the retail sector in a period of profound transformation.'
