SES strengthens position in home markets

SES European Shopping Centers aims to expand further in Austria and Slovenia, CEO Marcus Wild told PropertyEU at Expo Real.

The Salzburg-based company is poised to start construction of Siska, a new shopping centre in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana by the beginning of next year, Wild said. ‘We have just received the building permit.’The mall, located in the northwest of the city, will offer around 32,000 m² of leasable space and will seek BREEAM approval, Wild said. This will be a first for a shopping centre in Slovenia, he added.

The developer/asset manager is also doubling the size of its Fischapark mall in Wiener Neustadt from around 21,000 m² to 42,000 m². The expansion will involve an investment of EUR 100 mln.

Besides Austria and Slovenia, the company also has activities in northern Italy, Hungary and Czech Republic. Together Austria, Slovenia and northern Italy generate about 80-90% of SES’ total turnover, Wild said, while Hungary accounts for a good portion of the remainder. ‘These countries are our safe havens.’ The company is also involved in the development of a new shopping centre in Croatia which will mark SES’ debut in this country. ‘Croatia is also part of the EU and is a stabilising economy,’ Wild said.

SES has another two projects in the pipeline in Austria, Wild continued: ‘We normally add one or two new centres or asset management mandates every year. We have been doing this for the past 10 years and this pace will not change.’ SES currently manages 24 shopping centres and claims to be market leader in Austria and Slovenia. SES Spar European Centres was established in 2007 as an independent subsidiary of the SPAR Austria Group. The company booked turnover of EUR 2.41 bn in 2010 with a gross leasable area of 700,000 m².

PropertyEU filed 70 news stories, published three Daily News magazines and conducted 15 PropertyTV interviews from Expo Real. Click on the link below for the full overview.