Casino bets on Poland

Mayland Real Estate (MRE) is planning to develop 15 new shopping centers in Poland by the end of 2012.

The first tranche of the investment will be worth at least X500 (zł.1,877) million - around 75 percent of the planned investment - and the properties in Poland are expected to be worth at least X1 (zł.3.75) billion once completed.

The project is the result of an agreement between Casino Group, which owns MRE, and the Goldman Sachs-managed Whitehall investment fund. Cooperation between the two firms is expected to see a number of shopping centers developed in other Central European countries as well.

The prospect of such a large project has MRE enthused. "This agreement means that Mayland will become one of the largest developers of shopping centers in Poland and Central Europe," said Yann Guen, vice president of MRE.

Whitehall will finance the investment and Casino will be responsible for providing plots for development. The French firm will also have the majority of votes at shareholders' meetings and take between 65-70 percent of the profit. The former owner of the Géant hypermarket chain, Casino has already opened 13 shopping centers during its 15 years in Poland.

For its part, MRE is currently building three shopping centers in Poland - Jantar in Słupsk, Karolinka in Opole and Pogoria in Dàbrowa Górnicza. Guen remarked that apart from shopping centers, the company also plans to build office and residential complexes in large and mid-sized cities in Poland.