Romania, even though the number of transactions completed last year was slightly lower compared to 2021, the total investment volume reached a historical record, of EUR 1.3 bln, out of which two thirds (EUR 944 mln) were signed in H2. A total of 12 properties were the subject of two major office and retail portfolio disposals.
The highest number of transactions pertained to office buildings – around 43 pct of the total 22, followed by retail properties. Moreover, 7 industrial and logistics assets have switched owners in the analyzed period.
The largest transactions in Romania in terms of volume pertained to CA Immo’s sale of its Romanian office portfolio (6 buildings totaling 165,000 sqm) to Pavăl Holding Properties (Dedeman Group) and Prime Kapital’s disposal of its 60 pct interest in 6 retail parks (132,000 sqm GLA) to MAS Real Estate. The S Immo’s acquisition of the Expo Business Park office project from Portland Trust was the third transaction that crossed the EUR 100 mln threshold. These three deals account for more than half of the total volume recorded in 2022 in Romania.
The prime yields have seen an upward movement across all segments due to the increasing financing costs, in line with the trend registered in the entire CEE region, as the office and retail segments recorded a 25 bp spike, with a 15 bp rise for industrial & logistics assets respectively. Even though the increasing interest rates will continue to put pressure on the exit yields, Romania remains an attractive market, as the gap between the local benchmarks and the other CEE markets, such as the Czech Republic, Poland or Hungary is still relatively high in all market segments.