The Most Important Real Estate Events in 2013

The South-African investment fund NEPI, the most active real estate investor in Romania, with assets of nearly 1 billion euro, bought the City Park mall in Constanta, developed by Israeli investors, for EUR 81 million. This is the largest transaction on the real estate market this year.

Also NEPI made the largest transaction of the office segment. The company bought the office building Lakeview from Dinu Patriciu and AIG/Lincoln for EUR 61.7 million. The Lakeview has a total rentable area of 25,564 sq. m and 485 parking places, being situated in the area Floreasca Barbu-Văcărescu, let to tenants such as Alcon, Colgate-Palmolive, Huawei, Philips, PwC and Royal Bank of Scotland.

The businessman Ioannis Papalekas gathers its properties under the same company. Papalekas has listed on the secondary market of the London Stock Exchange the company Globalworth, which includes several projects developed in Bucharest. Moreover, the investments continue with an office building in the proximity of the metro station Aurel Vlaicu in Bucharest.

After more than three years with no mall opening in Bucharest, 2013 brought a fresh breath on the commercial centres market with the opening of Promenada mall. Built during 22 months, the newest mall in Bucharest needed over EUR 130 million investments from Raiffeisen evolution. At its opening from October 17, the mall was 95% rented and the company’s officials expected 30,000-35,000 visitors during holidays. The mall is situated in the close vicinity of the tallest building in Romania, also developed by Raiffeisen evolution: Sky Tower.

Early in 2013, Swan Office & Technology Park, with a total area of 29,124 sq. m entered insolvency. Situated in Pipera area from Bucharest, the project was nearing 40% occupancy rate at the end of 2012. The investment of EUR 50 million in the project was made by the London based company Chayton Capital LLP and was opened in the second quarter of 2011, in the Northern Bucharest. The building was recently put on sale for a price of EUR 43 million.

Israeli developer Plaza Centers, which had in plan the development of the Dâmboviţa Center in Bucharest as well as the construction of several malls in the country, has entered the reorganization process. The company has initiated on November 18 the reorganization procedures in Amsterdam Court and has submitted a restructuration plan.

The company INR Management Real Estate, the developer of the projects Silver Mountain din Braşov, entered insolvency in August 2013. The company started in 2008 the construction of the biggest real estate project in Romania, estimated to over EUR 300 million. After the main shareholder death last year, Dan Fisher, the company was the object of several foreclosure attempts from the creditors BCR and DITL Brasov. At the moment of the procedure opening, the company registered debts of approx. EUR 380 million.

Red Sea Group and Shikun & Binui Real Estate have resumed a project announced before the crises. On the plot of land bought for EUR 50 million at that time, the companies have started in the spring of 2013 the project City Point, which will have in its first phase 180 apartments. The necessary investment is EUR 15 million.

The mall developer BelRom ends 2013 with three commercial centres in insolvency: Electroputere Parc Craiova, Promeanda Mall Focşani and Hello Shopping Park Bacău. The company used by the Belgians to buy the Helitube land in Colentina, Bucharest, destined for a mall development, is also in insolvency. The creditors exposure in the Craiova project nears EUR 70 million.

The bank took over in the autumn of 2013 the residential complex Blue Tower in Colentina, developed by Britain’s Cooper Beech. The company entered insolvency in 2009, and a year later the Court in Bucharest approved the bankruptcy, after rejecting the reorganization plan. Auctions followed down to half of the price, but no investor rushed to buy. Alpha Bank has financed the project with EUR 14 million took the project, 85% completed, for EUR 11.4 million. An evaluation report shows that the completion of the 156 apartments would involve another EUR 5 million. (Source: economica.net)