EuropaProperty has completed the 18th annual SEE Real Estate Awards at the Radisson BLU Hotel in Bucharest, Romania. The awards gala was heralded as a great success and was well received by all winners and their guests. For more “trending details” please follow #SEERealEstateAwards.
The 18th annual SEE Real Estate Awards was held in front of an enthusiastic crowd. The event brought together some of the region’s leading real estate developers, investors and market professionals, who were there to see who would collect the 28 prizes that were handed out throughout the evening.
Company of the Year awards were presented to the leading developer, investors and professional service providers in South Eastern Europe for their activities and accomplishments during the past year. Companies were judged on their overall market contribution, quality of customer services, market innovation, commercial success, ESG leadership and market penetration.
The quality and number of nominations for this year’s event suggested an underlying strength to the region’s property markets, resulting in some companies winning multiple awards. The biggest of which was AFI Europe Romania. The regional developer shone the brightest on the evening picking up six awards, including a hattrick of project prizes in the mixed-use, retail and office development categories. The developer scooped up project prizes for AFI Tech Park 2 in the hugely competitive Office Project category, and the Future Mixed-Project of the Year category for Phase B of the mixed-use development AFI Brasov, in Brasov, Romania’s sixth largest city.
Project of the Year award winners were rated according to quality of design, building efficiency, quality of location, ESG compliance and commercial success. The judges decided that this year’s best retail development was AFI City Bucharestii NOI, and Speedwell’s SpacePlus was voted the best Warehouse Project. WDP walked away with the Warehouse Developer award.
The highly praised America House by ADD Value Management in Bucharest won two awards in the Concept and Design and Refurbishment Project categories. Colosseum Mall was also recognised for the large extension it brought to the Bucharest market last year. On the residential side, the Residential Development of the Year prize went to Amber Forest (phase 1) in Romania, a project by Alesonor.
The development pipeline in Romania is strong, so a few future projects were recognized by the jury. The office project U•Center (phase 2) by Forte Partners in Bucharest was awarded Future Office Project and Agora Amber Forest by Alesonor in Romania was the winner in the Future Residential Project category. These two developers also collected Office and Residential Developer of the Year awards.
Meanwhile, on the investment front, which is increasingly active in Romania, Pavăl Holding, the investment vehicle of the Pavăl family which also owns Dedeman, Romania’s biggest DIY chain, was recognised by the jury for its acquisition strategy over the past year. Highlights included the acquisition U•Center (phase 1) from local developer Forte Partners and the purchase of CA Immo’s office portfolio in Romania, this deal was praised and welcomed by the industry as a sign of the market’s increased maturity and depth.
The Professional of the Year award went to AFI Europe Romania’s Emma Toma. AFI Europe is a prolific real estate developer and investor with a major presence in the entire region. The Shopping Centre Director award went to Luciana Giurea – AFI Europe Romania – for the Ploiest shopping centre. AFI also collected the Retail Developer of the Year award.
Accentuating the interest in the SEE region’s retail sector, several key retailers were awarded on the night. Rising Star of the Year went to the Turkish fashion retailer AC&co., which continues to open stores in Romania and is expanding throughout the region. Specialty Retailer was awarded to the supermarket chain Kaufland. Retailer of the Year awards was given to retailers active throughout the region based on their market innovation, expansion, contribution to the market, market share, concept and design, and commercial success.
Other major winners for the company awards included Bank Transilvania as Bank of the Year. On the agency side international property advisers, CBRE collected Agency and Property Management Team Awards. Green Alley Real Estate was awarded Residential Agency of the Year. BuildGreen Romania was recognised by the jury for its vital business contribution to commercial real estate and was awarded Professional Service Provider of the Year. Vitalis Consulting picked up the Project Management Award. Bog’Art picked up Construction Firm of the Year, and the Law Firm of the Year award went to Stratulat Albulescu.
Sponsors and Partners for 2023 included: Premier Partners Colosseum. Award Sponsors Fortress Logistics Real Estate, Genesis Property, AFI Europe Romania, Forty Management, Bog’Art, Alesonor, GTC, Green Valley Real Estate and AC&co. CEE Flex Office Partner New Work. Sustainability Partner BuildGreen. Venue Partner Radisson BLU Hotel. Auditor EY.
On behalf of our sponsors, judges and attendees, we offer our congratulations to all the winners. Foundations are already in place for next year’s event, which promises to be even bigger.
Full List of Winners
Retailer – Kaufland
Rising Star – AC&Co.
Professional Service Provider – BuildGreen
Construction Firm – Bog’Art
Law Firm – Stratulat Albulescu
Project Management Firm – Vitalis Consulting
Property Management Firm – CBRE
Shopping Centre Director – Luciana Giurea – AFI Europe Romania
Agency – CBRE
Residential Agency – Green Alley Real Estate
Bank – Banca Transilvania
Investment Deal – Sale of CA IMMO office portfolio in Bucharest to Pavăl Holding
Investor – Pavăl Holding
Residential Developer – Alesonor
Retail Developer – AFI Europe Romania
Warehouse Developer – WDP
Office Developer – Forte Partners
Concept Design – America House refurbishment
Refurbishment/Extension Project – America House – ADD Value Management/Fortim Trusted Advisers – Romania
Refurbishment/Extension Retail Project – Colosseum Mall – Romania
Residential Project – Amber Forest (phase 1) – Alesonor – Romania
Warehouse Project – SpacePlus – Speedwell – Romania
Retail Project – AFI City Bucurestii Noi – AFI Europe – Romania
Office Project – AFI Tech Park 2 – AFI Europe – Romania
Future Project – U•Center (phase 2) – Forte Partners – Romania
Future Residential Project – Agora Amber Forest – Alesonor – Romania
Future Mixed-use Project – AFI Brasov & AFI Park Brasov – AFI Europe – Romania
Professional – Emma Toma – AFI Europe Romania
