Focus Estate Fund is expanding its already substantial operations in Poland with the acquisition of the Ferio Legnica (Shopping Centre in the city of Legnica in southwestern Poland) from Austrian Raiffeisen Bank International. The retail centre comes with a leasable area (GLA) of approximately 13,200m², including. retail space - 11,965m², offices - 1,269m², a footfall of approximately 2 million a year.
The centre was opened in 2007. Ferio Legnica is a family-oriented shopping and retail center, which enables to do shopping, arrange everyday errands, and spend leisure time under one roof. Key anchors include Netto,Pepco,Kik,Sinsay,Jysk,Action,Rossman as well as other tenants. Ferio Legnica offers customers a simple layout and an extensive free covered parking facility with 334 spaces. There is excellent access to the shopping centre both by car and by public transport as the centre is located in the heart of Legnica right next to the Old Town.
A significant increase in the size of Focus Estate Fund portfolio took place in the period of the last 18 months. The acquisition of The Turawa Park Shopping Centre in Opole and Atrium Mosty Shopping Centre in Płock has resulted in a change of dimension for Focus Estate Fund. The last acquisition of 2022 took place right before the closing of the year, during the month of December. Despite still being in the early days of 2023, the business portfolio was once again expanded, increasing the total number of shopping centers in Poland to 6.
Commenting on the acquisition, Maxim Shkolnick, Focus Estate Fund General Partner, said: “We are very pleased that all stages leading to the acquisition of Ferio Legnica from Raiffeisen Bank International have been completed successfully, acquiring a high-potential retail destination. Business will undoubtedly go on to maximise the potential of the centre and lead it into a fresh new chapter. Although it is now substantially pre-leased, we have identified a number of exciting customer centric value-added opportunities that we want to pursue in line with our investment strategy. This acquisition reflects the company's plans to locate strategic assets in different geographical parts of Poland. After this acquisition our AUM in Poland has reached roughly €65m. One of the strategic plans is to scale up our portfolio in other parts of Europe, i.e., in countries such as the UK, Portugal, Spain, the Czech Republic, Italy and others.”
