Leroy Merlin to open first Do-it-Yourself store in Romania in August

French Do-it-Yourself retailer Leroy Merlin will open its first store in Romania in August, within the Colosseum shopping center in Bucharest, in the Chitila area. The first phase of this project, the 93,000 sqm retail park will include a Carrefour store and a Leroy Merlin store, with an investment estimated at EUR 90 million. The second phase of the project, scheduled for 2012, will include a mall on 137,000 sqm. All in all, the Colosseum project will require an investment of EUR 350 million. The project is developed by Nova Imobiliare, a company controlled by Panico Panayi. Bank of Cyprus has recently given a EUR 22.8 million loan to the developer for this project, after granting a EUR 26 million loan earlier in February. editor@romania-insider.com