A famous shopping center in Romania is for sale. The official announcement

ARA Europe and Gheorghe Iaciu, a well-known real estate developer, have agreed to sell the Doraly Expo Market shopping park to WDP, a real estate investment and development company specializing in logistics and industrial properties. This transaction represents a significant moment for the real estate market in Romania and for the retail industry, considering the important position of Doraly Expo Market on the local market.

Real estate consultancy iO Partners announces the sale of Expo Market Doraly to WDP. The iO Partners team advised the sellers – ARA Europe and the Romanian investor Gheorghe Iaciu. The latter is the one who founded Expo Market Doraly in 1993.

Expo Market Doraly is the longest-running and most successful wholesale, cash & carry and retail shopping park in Romania.

Real estate consultancy iO Partners gave details of the sale

Located in the north-east of Bucharest, it covers an area of ​​110,000 square meters and includes a total of 37 pavilions, where over 400 traders operate.

“We are delighted to complete such a complex transaction with an atypical property but with extremely strong fundamentals and to bring together a unique opportunity and the right investor. After last year saw a transaction volume of around EUR 500 million, which was the lowest level in the last 10 years, in line with global trends, 2024 got off to a good start with transactions of almost EUR 300 million closed in the first quarter. This is a positive signal that confirms our forecast regarding the increase in activity on the commercial real estate market”, said Andrei Văcaru, CEE Head of Capital Markets within iO Partners.

The main strengths of Expo Market Doraly

Expo Market Doraly’s main strengths in attracting an institutional investor like WDP are its 31 years of continuous growth. Also on the list is the solid base of loyal tenants and the exceptional location between the two beltways. It has easy access from the center of Bucharest, making it ideal for efficiently supplying traders and businesses from the Capital and the south-eastern region of Romania.

Gheorghe Iaciu, representing the Seller, said:

“In our quest to find the best solution for Doraly’s evolution, consistent with tenant expectations and end customer satisfaction, we identified WDP as unique to maximize the property’s potential. Expo Market Doraly is a resilient asset with a strong tenant portfolio of manufacturers, importers and distributors, where customers can find a wide range of products at very competitive prices, a shopping center in constant evolution and growth. Jeroen Biermans, with his Master Class experience in logistics, and WDP, with its financial strength, are what Doraly needed to evolve. We are trusted partners and the entire team is committed to creating value for Doraly’s stakeholders. Thank you for accepting Doraly into the WDP family!”

WDP is the second largest owner of industrial-logistics spaces in Romania

WDP is the second largest owner of industrial-logistics spaces in Romania. WDP has a strong presence in the local market with a portfolio of almost 1.7 million square meters. The company’s industrial parks are located throughout the country, in all major urban areas.

Together with WDP, which will perform the asset management of the asset, Iaciu and the current property management team will continue to manage the project.

“We are happy to have acquired this promising asset, which complements our existing portfolio in Romania. We look forward to continuing the success of Expo Market Doraly and making it an even stronger business, facilitating future growth with Mr. Iaciu and his team of seasoned professionals. I would like to thank both sellers for the extremely professional transaction process and iO Partners for presenting the opportunity to us” – said Jeroen Biermans, Country Manager WDP Romania.

WDP develops and invests in logistics real estate

iO Partners (IOP) is a real estate services company based in Vienna. It offers a full range of services in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia. It also offers agency, leasing, capital markets, valuation, project management and consulting services. It enjoys a strong presence in the industrial and office sectors and with the largest valuation team in the region. The company has offices in Vienna, Belgrade, Bratislava, Bucharest, Budapest and Prague. In addition, it has ambitious expansion plans underpinned by an outstanding team and a preferred partnership with JLL.

WDP develops and invests in logistics real estate (warehouses and offices). WDP’s real estate portfolio amounts to approximately 7 million square meters. This international portfolio of light industry and logistics buildings is spread over approximately 300 sites in prime logistics centers for warehousing and distribution. It is present in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany and Romania.