Romania added 11,000 sqm of shopping centres in the second quarter of this year, consisting of the fourth phase of Bucharest Mall, the second phase of Estrada Shopping Centre in Bucharest (Cora Policolor Pantelimon), and the extension of shopping center in European Retail Park Braila, according to a recent report from Cushman & Wakefield. Elsewhere, the provision of retail warehouse space was boosted by the second phase of the Family Centre retail park in Ramnicu Valcea, which added 3,400 sqm of GLA to the market.

Romania reached a stock of 105 retail schemes in July this year, according to the report. The Netherlands, with a lower population, had 484 schemes, while Portugal, with half of Romania's population, had 121 retail schemes. Romanian ranks 27th in the top of countries based on the amount of shopping space per 1,000 inhabitants, with 107.4 sqm of GLA for 1,000 people. It ranks better than Russia, Turkey, Bulgaria and Ukraine.

No major retail investment transactions took place in the second quarter. City Mall in Bucharest is currently being offered for sale through an insolvency company, but it has failed to sell after four auctions, not finding a buyer even after a considerable reduction to the starting price.

An upturn in shopping centre development in Europe is on the horizon, according to Cushman & Wakefield, European Shopping Centres Report 2011. Although, development has been subdued in some countries for the past few years, improving retailer demand and concerns about potential shortages of prime space are contributing to expectations of a rise in development activity in many European countries.

More than 2.1 million sqm of new shopping centre space in Europe were completed in the first half of 2011, roughly equal to that of the same period in 2010. 71 new shopping centres accounted for 90 percent of this space, while extensions of existing schemes made up the remaining 10 percent.

editor@romania-insider.com

(photo source: Photoxpress.com)