This could become a trend by the end of the year, given that owners of real estate portfolios are increasingly forced by shareholders to sell, due to a lack of clients for office buildings and low traffic in malls.
“The new trend in acquisitions is portfolio takeover, more than buying individual projects. The best chances are for companies which own finalized and operational projects, while those owning assets under construction come in second,” according to Capital Partners investment house Partner, Andrei Diaconescu.
The takeover of Fabian fund’s portfolio by businessman Dinu Patriciu was a first in this field. Fabian sold 11 buildings to Romania’s wealthiest man. On the other hand, some developers or funds are giving away portfolios for small amounts of money, due to a severe shortage of cash. The Lewis Charles company sold the Zenith mall, based in the city of Ploiesti (north of Bucharest) for a symbolic amount, with the possibility of cashing in 50 percent of earnings once the mall becomes operational.
