IC buys Wola Park as Polish malls attract investment

IC acquired over 65% of Central European Retail Property Fund (CERPF), which owns the mall, thus extending its stake in the company to 91.5%. "Increasing the stake in Wola Park is the next phase of IC's strategy aimed at expanding the company's portfolio in Poland and in the whole of Eastern Europe," said Claude Dion, IC deputy president in Europe. The worth of the transaction was not revealed, but all indications are that it must have been equal to the cost of building the mall, which surpassed zł.400 million. Market watchers noticed that real estate investors started in vesting in this country's shopping malls. "Modern shopping malls have become a very popular place to do shopping. Poles now enjoy higher purchasing power. There are more investors willing to invest than facilities to invest in," said Małgorzata Cieślak, PricewaterhouseCoopers manager. (Parkiet, pp. 1, 6) D.W.