Fourlis: New brand and investments of 150 million euros from Trade Estates

And the name of the commercial park brand: Top Parks. This is the new brand of the Trade Estates commercial parks of the Fourlis group, under which all existing and future projects of the real estate firm will be gathered.

The new brand was presented yesterday by the Fourlis group on the occasion of the opening of Top Parks Piraeus on Piraeus Street.

“Commercial parks were developed in Europe in the 2010s when Greece was in  the throes of the financial crisis. Today it is the fastest growing part of retail in Europe and that is why we decided to invest in this category”, said Vassilis Fourlis.

Trade Estates: The new queen of retail parks

“In Southern and Central Europe there is a tendency to create, both in small and larger cities, convenience shopping parks. These are relatively small-sized shopping parks where you provide the consumer with free parking and the possibility of doing their shopping in a limited number of stores where there are usually supermarkets, pharmacies, clothing stores, cosmetics and other value for money stores aimed at the whole family,” Mr. Fourlis noted.

In this investment direction, Top Parks Piraeus was developed, an investment of 23.5 million euros, while the same model will be followed in the coming years by Trade Estates.

The Top Parks of Piraeus

On the intersection of two central avenues, Top Parks Piraeus has leased all the commercial spaces that were available, according to what was mentioned in the presentation by the managing director of Trade Estates, Dimitris Papoulis, who has been at the helm of the company since last September.

The new shopping park features home goods, clothing and footwear, toys, supermarkets and fast food stores through the brands AB Vassilopoulos, Adidas, LC Waikiki, Lilly Drogerie, Marks & Spencer, McDonalds, Moustakas, Occhio Papavasiliou, Orchestra, Parex and Pepco .

In addition, in collaboration with PPC, it has installed photovoltaic systems on the roofs as well as the first super-fast charger in Greece with a power of 300kW of PPC Blue for charging electric vehicles in less than 20′.

Flyover and Electric Railway-Metro station

It is noted that the real estate firm is negotiating the creation of an Electric Railway-ESAP station next to the new Top Parks Piraeus shopping park, as well as the construction of a flyover that will connect it with the Rentis shopping park located directly across the street with stores such as Jumbo, Leroy Merlin, Intersport, Jysk and Transparent.

The goal for the flyover is to be operational by 2023, while the new metro station is estimated to take at least two years.

Investments of 150 million euros by 2026

Trade Estates currently has in its portfolio 9 commercial properties – seven commercial parks and two logistics centers – with a total value of 286 million euros. The gross leasable area reaches 225,770 m2, while rental income is in the order of 20 million euros.

Based on the company’s four-year investment plan, until 2026, AEEAP will own 18 properties, worth 476 million euros and with a leasable area of 470,000 sq.m. The rental income will amount to 36 million euros on an annual basis.

The 2026 goal will be achieved with investments of 150 million euros, while the next step is the portfolio worth 700 million, which AEEAP will have in 2028.

The developments until 2026 include the first phase of the new commercial parks in Spata and Heraklion, Crete, while later in 2024 the park in Patras will be delivered.

It will be followed by the commercial park in Ellinikon, the “flagship” of Trade Estates’ commercial park activity, where, among other things, a large IKEA will be established.

The timetable for its completion depends on the work on the redevelopment site of the former airport.

In addition, within the next two years, it is expected that there will be upgrading and energy saving interventions in all the already existing commercial parks of the group, such as Florida 1 in Thessaloniki, which will be radically renovated, so that, as Mr. Fourlis mentioned, it will become more consumer-friendly and greener initially with the installation of photovoltaics.

IPO within 2023

According to Mr. Papoulis, the listing of Trade Estates on the Stock Exchange is expected to take place within 2023.

It is most likely that the IPO will also take place within the initial deadline of the Capital Market Commission, i.e. until June next year, which will also depend on market conditions.