Mordechai Zisser-controlled Elbit Imaging Ltd. (Nasdaq: EMITF; TASE: EMIT) mall developer Plaza Centers NV (LSE:PLAZWSE:WLZ) has bought a 55,000 square meter lot in Lodz, Poland for a new shopping and entertainment center. Market sources estimate the price at €13-14 million. Plaza Centers is budgeting €85 million for development of the mall, with construction beginning late next year.
Lodz is Poland's second largest city. Plaza Centers is also planning an 80,000-square meter residential and office project in the city. The company recorded the value of this project at €14.8 million in its financial report for 2008.
The Lodz mall will have 45,000 square meters of gross leasable area, including 120 stores, an entertainment center, cinema, and extensive parking facilities. The site is close to key train and road transport links and is located four kilometers south of the city center.
Plaza Centers said that the land purchase "continues the group’s active development program in Poland and is its 14th project in the country. Since 1996 Plaza has built, managed, and sold a total of seven shopping centers in Poland (in the cities of Warsaw, Krakow, Poznan, Ruda Slaska, Lublin, Rybnik, and Sosnowiec) and has recently started construction on two fully funded developments in Suwalki and in Zgorzelec." The company has four projects under development: malls in Torun, Kielce, and Lezno, and the residential and office project in Lodz.
Plaza Centers president and CEO Ran Shtarkman said, “This acquisition confirms our position as the leading retail developer in Poland as we continue to build upon our exceptional track record in the region. Despite the global downturn, the Polish market has remained resilient and is the EU's fastest growing economy based on recent GDP figures. This gives us the confidence to continue our investment in the country.
Plaza Center's share rose 2.6% to ₤1.18 by midday in London today, and rose 0.5% to 5.68 zlotys in Warsaw. Elbit Imaging's share closed at $21.31 on Nasdaq yesterday, and rose 2.3% on the TASE today to NIS 82.89.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 15, 2009
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