City Mall changes manager and turns leisure areas into offices

At the end of 2006, City Mall shopping complex in Southern Bucharest was valued at 88.2 million euros, 15 million euros below the price paid by the Australians at APN/UKA, the current owners.
The market value of the City Mall shopping centre fell 24% in the fiscal year ended on June 30, 2008, to 88. 2 million euros, and, as a result, the owners of the complex have decided to convert 3,000 square metres of the leisure area into office space and build 2000 square metres of additional office space, the annual report of the company reveals. The leisure area includes, according to data on the company’s website, a cinema with four screens, a pool room, a bowling alley, a casino and a children’s entertainment area.
City Mall officials would not specify which of these facilities they planned to give up.
City Mall appointed a new chief executive, Mihai Agaficioaia, the former manager of Maceplast Romania.
He replaced Lucian Cretu, who became the chief executive of the shopping complex in the spring of 2007, shortly after the Australians took over City Mall in a 103.5 million-euro deal. Meanwhile, the new City Mall owners completed an 11-level car park close to the mall that also includes space rented by retailers, such as Billa and Domo, and also made changes to the tenant mix.
“The company registered a decline in its operating income because of the estimates for revenues from the rental of space in the multi-storey car park,” the APN/UKA report reveals.
City Mall officials say Lucian Cretu left the company in May to take another position in the real estate field.
His departure had nothing to do with the financial results at the company.
City Mall is valued at 88.2 million euros against a 7.5% annual yield in euros, an increase on 7.35%, its valuation in 2007.
City Mall’s net revenues amounted to 4.1 million euros in the financial year ended this June, more than double the previous financial year, when the company only owned the shopping complex for about six months.
Revenues are expected to increase this year, considering the newly created space as a result of the construction of the car park, which is expected to generate revenues over the entire year.
The construction of the additional office space is planned for next September, with the company betting on the high demand for office space, which led to the signing of a pre-lease for 1,600 square metres with a German publisher.
On the other hand, City Mall will see intense competition in Southern Bucharest where three more shopping centres – Liberty Center, Grand Arena and Sun Plaza, will open.
The four projects will largely cover the demand for retail space in Southern Bucharest and could even generate the first high-profile failures of some real estate projects.
APN/UKA is a company that owns properties in Spain, Italy, Germany, Greece, Romania and Austria, and has a market value that exceeds 730 million euros.