Česká ZDR Investments bought three retail parks in Slovenia for CZK 600 million

Czech real estate fund group ZDR Investments has entered the Slovenian market, buying three retail parks for CZK 600m. It is more than 15,000 sqm of retail space in the towns of Slovenj Gradec, Prevalje and Ravne in the northern part of Slovenia. Austrian Raiffeisen Bank lent the group 60 percent of the acquisition. ZDR representatives said this at a press conference. The group has booked a fourth property, and the aim is to make the total investment in Slovenia CZK 1 billion, according to its representatives.

"Slovenia has long been the target of ZDR Group's acquisition plans. We were just waiting for the right opportunity. Before the acquisition, we carefully assessed not only the economic situation in the country, but mainly the location of retail parks and the structure of tenants," said ZDR partner Roman Latuske.

The retail park in Slovenj Gradec has just under 5,000 sqm. It is currently leased by four companies, namely Spar grocery, Müller drugstore, Hervis sporting goods and local electronics chain Big Bang. The park was opened in February 2024. The city is the centre of Slovenian Carinthia and 17,000 people live in the surrounding area.
The largest of the retail parks purchased is located in Prevalje and is almost 7,500 sqm in size. Landlords include Spar and Jysk. The town has 7,000 inhabitants and is close to the Austrian border. Five kilometres from Prevalje is the Ravne Park with almost 3,000 square metres.

Last September, ZDR bought a retail park in Rijeka, Croatia, worth EUR 40 million (CZK 970 million). The first phase of the 30,589 sqm Bakar Gallery was completed this April. The second phase is one of the group's investment targets scheduled for spring 2025.

ZDR Investment Group was established in 2017 and invests mainly in commercial real estate. It mainly focuses on regional discount retail parks with a significant presence of grocery stores. It owns business parks such as Prague's Arena Chodov, Retail Park in Poruba, a shopping centre in Voitsberg, Austria, and a logistics centre in Prešov. After the acquisition in Slovenia, the group owns 66 properties worth CZK 14 billion. Their area is 318,000 sqm. The group's annual rent collection amounts to CZK 984 million.

Source: Česká ZDR Investments and CTK