AFI Europe secures financing for Bucharest shopping mall

This is one of the biggest real estate financing agreements of the year from Raiffeisen Bank, Erste Group Bank and Deutsche Pfanbriefbank. The CEO of AFI Europe Romania, David Hay, has stated the group’s appreciation to the bank for granting this loan. He said the process was extremely difficult as the amount of the loan was so high for a Romanian project. However, the success of the application shows that it is possible to obtain funding for a good project by an experienced developer.

AFI Palace Cotroceni was opened during November 2009 and is viewed as one of the most successful malls in Romania. It offers tenants a leasable area of 81000m², and has shown a net operating income for the first quarter of 2014 of €7.3m. This is a 6.7% increase on the same period during 2013. Based on the results for the first quarter, it is estimated that the 2014 net operating income will exceed €29m.

The mall has an occupancy level of 98%, with an average of 55000 visitors per day. As at 30 September 2013, the mall’s value was €375m.