Galeria Bałtycka in new hands

Germany's only public company to invest solely in shopping centers, Deutsche Euroshop (DE), has acquired a 74-percent interest in Galeria Bałtycka in Gdańsk. The investment amounts to around EUR 123 (zł.475.4) million.

DE purchased the stake from HGA Capital Grundbesitz und Anlage GmbH, a company belonging to the HSH Nordbank Group. Its partner in the investment is the ECE Group, which is also responsible for the planning, development, leasing and management of the center.

"The entry of the new investor won't change any previous plans concerning the development of Galeria Bałtycka. Therefore our construction works are consistently moving forward and according to schedule," said Jan Dębski, managing director of ECE Poland.

Galeria Bałtycka has been under construction since May 2006 and is scheduled to open in autumn 2007. The shopping center has 47,100 sqm of commercial space and will offer 190 specialized shops on three levels. Over 80 percent of the space has already been leased to well-known retailers. A supermarket, a specialist consumer electronics retailer and a fashion house are the center's anchor tenants. There will be more than 1,000 parking spaces in the shopping center's parking deck.

Galeria Bałtycka is being built at the center of the Tri-city's transport network and will be easily accessible by public transport as well as by car. Approximately 1.2 million people live in the center's catchment area and according to the investor their retail purchasing power is around 20 percent more than the Polish average.

DE currently has equity interests in 16 European shopping centers in Germany, Austria, Hungary, Italy and Poland. Along with Galeria Bałtycka, the ratio of foreign investments of the DE group has increased to 18 percent.