Romanian property holding Meta Estate Trust has launched Retail Park Ciolpani, marking the company's first operational asset and an early opening ahead of the planned Q1 2026 schedule.

The traditional December shopping surge has weakened across Europe, with Romania recording a 20% increase in non-food sales during the holiday month compared to the previous 11 months, according to Colliers analysis of Eurostat data from 2015-2024.

Mitiska REIM, the specialist investor in European convenience real estate, has sold Retail Park Strakonická in České Budějovice to Fio Real Estate Fund for €22.2 million.

Nepi Rockcastle has appointed Marius Barbu as COO, effective from April 2026, to succeed Marek Noetzel, current COO and CEO-designate. He has also been nominated as a Board Director and will stand for election at the next AGM in May 2026.

Czech investment group Star Capital Finance (SCF) has launched a new subfund SCF Crop within its qualified investor fund SCF Investment Partners Sicav. The fund will focus on retail park investments across CEE, with properties valued at their actual purchase price and a target return exceeding 10% annually.

Granit Asset Management has acquired a portfolio of 12 retail parks with a combined leasable area of 45,000 sqm from international investment firm Revetas Capital.

Prague is emerging as a key driver of Europe's retail recovery in 2025, according to Savills Research European Retail Market. The Czech Republic ranks among Europe's top-performing economies, with real retail sales expected to grow by 4.1% this year, outpacing Germany (2.7%), France (2.3%) and the United Kingdom (0.8%).

OPC Real Estate has opened OC Point Žiar nad Hronom, its fourth retail park in the past month and one of the larger projects in its portfolio. The development marks the company's final project opening of this year.

UDI Group has obtained a building permit for the Shopping Park Líbeznice project, with construction planned to begin in Q1 2026, with completion expected in the third quarter of the same year. All retail spaces in the future facility are already leased.

Global Vision Investment Fund (GVIF) has signed a €4.5 million refinancing agreement with Raiffeisen Bank Romania for its retail project in Oradea. The development is anchored by Atac by Auchan under a long-term lease agreement and has earmarked landbank for a planned retail gallery.