December is a time for Romania to score positive results for sales at supermarkets, hypermarkets or discounters as well as for gifts, offering generous returns for retailers in shopping centres and preferring apparel rather than electronic goods relative to other Europeans. The season’s celebrations are a recurring highlight each year for the office segment as well, as both landlords and tenants invest in promoting the holiday spirit.

Developer Nova Imobiliare has started the construction works for Colosseum Mall as part of the expansion plan for its Colosseum shopping centre. The construction of the mall will be carried out by Axa Trans Construct, designated as the general contractor following a selection process.

Belgian real estate developer Speedwell is investing €40 million in a mixed-use project in the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Portuguese group Sonae Sierra announced that it purchased the 50% stake held by its former Joint Venture partner Caelum Development in Bucharest’s ParkLake shopping centre with the intention of consolidating its presence in Romania.

Multi Corporation and GEMO HOLDING have sold the Forum Poprad shopping centre in Poprad, Slovakia. The asset has been acquired by the real estate fund of ZFP Investments and MAT Corporation, part of the DBK group. The sellers have been advised by Cushman & Wakefield

MAS Real Estate, through a subsidiary, has acquired the Atrium Mall Shopping Centre in Arad, Romania from Cosmovia Holdings Limited, a member of the Demján Group based in Hungary.

Representing Magyar Posta Takarék Real Estate Investment Fund (MPTIA), Diófa Asset Management has signed a sales and purchase agreement with Portico Investment for a 27,500 sqm retail portfolio in Budapest and its agglomeration. Once regulatory approval is obtained, the size of the portfolio managed by Diófa will exceed 330,000 sqm.

Retailer demand for physical store space will remain steadfast throughout a number of key retail markets over the next five years, with the Health and Beauty sector leading the way in driving future growth requirements according to global real estate advisor CBRE.

Meyer Bergman, an investment manager specialized in urban mixed-use real estate, has sold Forum Nová Karolina shopping centre in Ostrava, Czech Republic to REICO, Česká spořitelna's real estate fund manager. Cushman & Wakefield advised Meyer Bergman on the disposal of Forum Nová Karolina.

After an investment of €40 million, NEPI Rockcastle opened Shopping City Satu Mare, which hosts 85 stores, including the first Carrefour hypermarket in the city.