NEPI Rockcastle, the largest owner of shopping centres in CEE, said its net operating income rose 11.2% year-on-year to a record €618 million in 2025, while the distributable earnings increased 6.7% to €441 million.
In a video interview recorded at CEE Property Forum 2025 in Vienna, Marek Noetzel, COO of NEPI Rockcastle and incoming CEO from April 2026, shares his outlook on retail trade across the region, the company's growth strategy and his priorities for the next phase of leadership.
Retail developers continue to accelerate expansion plans across Romania, with projects totalling more than 750,000 sqm currently in construction and planning stages for delivery until 2029, according to a report by Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.
Office development activity in Bucharest accelerated over the past year, with the volume of projects currently under construction exceeding 200,000 sqm of gross leasable area, the highest level since 2021. At least eight new office buildings are expected to be delivered by the end of 2028, according to a report by Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.
Nepi Rockcastle has appointed Marius Barbu as COO, effective from April 2026, to succeed Marek Noetzel, current COO and CEO-designate. He has also been nominated as a Board Director and will stand for election at the next AGM in May 2026.
Nepi Rockcastle has appointed Marek Noetzel as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective 1 April 2026. Noetzel, who has served as the company's COO since June 2022, will succeed current CEO Rüdiger Dany.
Nepi Rockcastle has inaugurated its first photovoltaic park in Chișineu-Criș, Arad County, Romania, marking a milestone in the shopping centre developer's sustainability efforts.
Nepi Rockcastle successfully issued a €500 million green bond that was eightfold oversubscribed, with an orderbook exceeding €4 billion from over 200 international investors.
Nepi Rockcastle, Europe's third-largest listed retail real estate company by portfolio value, reported a 12.1% year-on-year increase in net operating income (NOI) in the first half of 2025, reaching €307 million. The company's investment property portfolio exceeded €8 billion for the first time in its history, supported by acquisitions completed in 2024 and active asset management. Vacancy remained low at 1.6%.
NEPI Rockcastle has fully sold all 254 apartments at Vulcan Residence, its first residential project in Bucharest, which was developed with a total investment of approximately €25 million.
NE Property BV, part of the NEPI Rockcastle Group, has obtained a €190 million sustainability-linked revolving credit facility from a banking consortium in Romania.
NEPI Rockcastle, the largest owner of shopping centers in Romania, aims to cover its electricity consumption exclusively from renewable sources by the end of 2026.
The disposable income gap between CEE economies, which are enjoying solid economic expansion, and stagnating Western European countries is narrowing fast. This is buoying consumer spending in markets like Poland and Romania and attracting international and regional retailers to large modern shopping centres that dominate the CEE's shopping and experience landscapes, while also offering higher margins and lower costs, NEPI Rockcastle's latest research concludes.
BT raised €1 billion from international markets through a bond issuance that was almost four times oversubscribed, with the bank mitigating the impact of volatility in financial markets.
Romania's national electricity transmission company Transelectrica is managing €51.7 million in funding from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan's (PNRR) REPowerEU component.
The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation into Romania's planned state support for refurbishing the Cernavoda 1 nuclear reactor, questioning whether the €3.2 billion aid package complies with EU state aid rules.
Vastint Romania, part of Vastint Group, has signed the first lease agreement for the second phase of Timpuri Noi Square (TNS). Scor, a global reinsurer, has selected the project for its permanent operations in Romania, where it will occupy 3,250 sqm.