Centaurus Shopping Centre Fund opens second Centre in Bydgoszcz, Poland
16 May 2008
The King Sturge Corporate Finance team has provided investment and development consultancy advice
The Centaurus Shopping Centre Fund, a joint venture between Morley Fund Management and Parkridge CE Retail, has opened its second shopping centre in the town of Bydgoszcz, Poland. The shopping centre, branded Focus Park, opened to the public on 23 April 2008. The grand opening was widely anticipated in the town as Parkridge CE Retail had closed off the main road next to the shopping centre and laid on a concert attended by approximately 75,000 people. The festivities started in the late afternoon with music provided by September and later Doda (Poland’s answer to Britney Spears), with the night concluding with a spectacular fireworks display.
The total area of the development extends to 88,620 m² and has a Gross Lettable Area of 40,488 m². There are 136 retail units over three levels, with car parking arranged at levels +2 and +3. The main tenants include Cinema City, Alma (supermarket), Empik, Adidas, H&M, Saturn, Douglas and New Yorker. The centre was over 93% prelet at opening.
The Corporate Finance team was involved in the creation of the Fund and has provided investment and development consultancy advice throughout. There are currently two further Focus Park shopping centres under construction in Zielona Gora and Piotrkow, with six more shopping centre developments in the pipeline, which will open between 2009 and 2012. King Sturge will continue to play an active role in the Fund which currently has plans to extend into Bulgaria and Romania, with a long term goal of creating a €1 billion pan-European shopping centre fund.
