Acquisition of project
Plaza Centers N.V.
25 July 2007
25 July 2007
PLAZA CENTERS ACQUIRES FOURTH RETAIL DEVELOPMENT PROJECT IN ROMANIA
Plaza Centers N.V. ('Plaza Centers' or 'the Company'), a leading emerging
markets property developer, today announces that it has acquired a retail
development project in Iasi, Romania. The estimated development budget for the
project is €115 million.
The project will see a new retail-led mixed use development built in Iasi, the
largest city in Iasi County, situated in the north-east of Romania. The City of
Iasi has a population of over 340,000 and is located within a larger catchments
area of 820,000 people.
The development, which occupies a plot of 46,500 sqm, will encompass 54,000 sqm
of retail space, 15,000 sqm of office space and 46,200 sqm of parking, providing
1,400 spaces. Additionally, the terms of the acquisition provide the option to
develop 70,000 sqm of residential accommodation on the site, which the Company
may consider selling to a third party. The Company anticipates that the centre
will be completed in 2010.
This project is Plaza Centers' fourth development project in Romania since it
commenced operations in the country in November 2006. The Company's other
schemes in the country include its schemes at Timisoara, Miercurea Ciuc and,
most significantly, its landmark Casa Radio scheme in the heart of Bucharest
comprising more than 500,000 sqm of built area including a shopping and
entertainment centre, residential and office space, a hotel, casino,
hypermarket, convention and conference hall and parking facilities.
Commenting on the acquisition, Ran Shtarkman, President and Chief Executive
Officer of Plaza Centers, said:
'The development of this major mixed-use scheme in Iasi will provide the city
with a prestigious and exciting new shopping and entertainment destination. We
look forward to welcoming a range of high quality retail and commercial tenants
to the centre.
'In acquiring our fourth significant development project in Romania in only nine
months, we are demonstrating our clear belief in the country's prospects. It is
a market that holds great opportunity for us to capitalise on our specialist
development expertise gained over many years of successful development across
Central and Eastern Europe and, in so doing, deliver on our strategy of value
creation both for our clients and our shareholders.'
For further details please contact:
Plaza Centers
Mordechay Zisser, Chairman +972 3 608 6000
Ran Shtarkman, President and CEO +36 1 462 7221
Roy Linden, CFO +36 1 462 7105
Financial Dynamics +44 20 7831 3113
Stephanie Highett / Lauren Mills
Notes to Editors
Plaza Centers N.V. (www.plazacenters.com) is a leading emerging markets
developer of shopping and entertainment centres, focusing on constructing new
centres and, where there is significant redevelopment potential, redeveloping
existing centres, in both capital cities and important regional centres. The
Company is an indirect subsidiary of Elbit Medical Imaging Ltd. ('EMIL'), an
Israeli public company whose shares are traded on both the Tel Aviv Stock
Exchange in Israel and the NASDAQ Global Market in the United States.
Plaza Centers is a member of the Europe Israel Group of companies which is
controlled by its founder, Mr Mordechay Zisser. It has been present in real
estate development in emerging markets for over 11 years.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange