The investment group DRFG has acquired a shopping center near Varaždin in Croatia

Brno - The investment group DRFG has acquired the Lumini shopping center near Varaždin in Croatia, reported Seznam Zprávy today. The group did not comment on the amount of the investment. According to information from Seznam Zpráv, the transaction value reaches nearly 1.25 billion crowns. The center, with a commercial area of 25,800 square meters, is almost fully occupied and serves millions of visitors annually.

The DRFG group is based in Brno and has long focused on real estate, as well as telecommunications and financial services. It recently purchased the Korzó shopping center in the city of Nyíregyháza in Hungary, and previously the ZTC shopping center in Rijeka, Croatia.

"The Varaždin shopping center is our second acquisition of commercial property in Croatia and confirms that we want to develop this market in the long term," said Jan Pelíšek, director of the Real Estate division of DRFG, to Seznam Zprávy. According to him, the Croatian retail sector maintains growth dynamics.

The advantage of the Croatian market over the Czech one is that rental yields are higher. “In Croatia, the yield ranges between eight and ten percent,” said David Rusňák, co-owner and founder of DRFG, according to Seznam Zprávy. Furthermore, there is lower competition from Croatian investors. "Larger transactions are limiting for local capital," Rusňák added. Banks are involved in the purchase, covering 65 to 70 percent of it.