Plaza Regulatory News (PLAZ)

17 Aug 2007 07:01

Plaza Centers N.V.17 August 2007 17 August 2007 PLAZA CENTERS CONTINUES EXPANSION IN ROMANIA Plaza Centers N.V. ("Plaza" or the "Company"), a leading emerging marketsproperty developer, today announces that it has acquired a site in Slatina, insouthern Romania ("the site"). The Slatina site totals approximately 20,000 sqm and is located in thenorth-western part of Slatina. Plaza plans to build a shopping and entertainmentcentre with approximately 25,000 sqm of built area, plus 450 parking places. Inaddition the site comes with an option to develop approximately 10,000 sqm ofresidential accommodation, which the Company may consider selling to a thirdparty. This project is Plaza's fifth development project in Romania since it commencedoperations in the country in November 2006. The Company's other schemes inRomania include projects at Iasi, Timisoara, Miercurea Ciuc and, mostsignificantly, its landmark Casa Radio scheme in the heart of Bucharest, whichcomprises more than 500,000 sqm of built area including shopping, leisure,office, conference facilities and parking places. Plaza's total investment in the Slatina scheme is expected to be approximately€24.5 million. Commenting on the deal, Ran Shtarkman, CEO, Plaza Centers N.V. said: "Slatina is a vibrant city with around 80,000 inhabitants and is considered amajor city in the county of Olt which has a population of 520,000. It has astrong industrial base, with companies such as Pirelli Tyres located there.However, it is lacking the sort of high quality retail space that we specializein developing. Given that demand for prime retail space in the city is strong,we are confident that our latest Romanian project will generate strong interestfrom potential occupiers. "This acquisition is Plaza's fifth transaction in Romania since November 2006.We believe the Romanian property sector is set to enjoy a long period of steadygrowth, backed by growing demand from occupiers and increasing interest frominternational investors in institutional grade assets in the region." Ends. For further details please contact: PlazaRan Shtarkman +36 1 462 7221Roy Linden +36 1 462 7105 Financial DynamicsStephanie Highett/Lauren Mills +44 20 7831 3113 Notes to Editors Plaza Centers N.V. (www.plazacenters.com) is a leading emerging marketsdeveloper of shopping and entertainment centres, focusing on constructing newcentres and, where there is significant redevelopment potential, redevelopingexisting centres, in both capital cities and important regional centres. TheCompany is an indirect subsidiary of Elbit Medical Imaging Ltd. ("EMIL"), anIsraeli public company whose shares are traded on both the Tel Aviv StockExchange in Israel and the NASDAQ Global Market in the United States. Plaza Centers is a member of the Europe Israel Group of companies which iscontrolled by its founder, Mr Mordechay Zisser. It has been present in realestate development in emerging markets for over 11 years. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange