Auchan partners K&S Developments to build EUR 90 mln Electroputere Parc Craiova commercial park

French retailer Auchan has signed a partnership with K&S Developments to acquire 12 hectares of the land owned by Electroputere SA Craiova, on which it will build a commercial center set to open in the second quarter of 2011, the retailer announced.

The Electroputere Parc, which requires an estimated investment of EUR 90 million, will be constructed on the site of the former plant in Craiova. It will have a built surface of 6.3 hectares.

Besides Auchan, other brands that will open stores in the center are Leroy Merlin, Decathlon, Kiabi and Norauto, all of them partner brands of Auchan.

K&S Developments is entirely owned by companies in the hands of Kris Carton and Steven Van Den Bossche. As managing partners of Belrom Retail Estate, they have developed Sibiu Shopping City, European Retail Park Targu Mures, ERP Braila, ERP Focsani, Hello Shopping City Bacau and ERP Severin.

Through the sale, Electroputere Craiova aims to cover its historic fiscal debts, which date from before its privatization. “Selling 12 of the 62 hectares of the Electroputere platform does not affect the company’s industrial activity, as it is

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part of the consolidation and restructuring process started two years ago,” said Adrian Gabriel Dumitriu, general manager of Electroputere.

Electroputere Parc Craiova is located on one of the main boulevards in Craiova.

The main anchors of the commercial center are Auchan, which is building an 11,000-sqm hypermarket, sports retailer Decathlon, which will have a 3,500-sqm store, large-size clothing retailer Kiabi, which will have a 1,800-sqm location, interior decorations retailer Leroy Merlin with a 10,000-sqm shop, and car service and equipment company Norauto with a 1,100-sqm outlet. The total built surface of the center is 6.3 hectares, and it will have 2,000 parking places.