Hergan: Interest in real estate market is returning

Businessman Alexander Hergan, who developed 35 projects such as Charles de Gaulle Plaza (the headquarters of Petrom and of Vodafone) through Avrig 35, and Iris Shopping Center in Titan, says he did not anticipate the collapse of the real estate market, and that his selling properties worth around 300 million euros at the right moment was dictated by the market.

Hergan, who had kept a low profile, attended the launch of Avrig 35's new real estate project on Monday - a shopping centre on Theodor Pallady Avenue in Bucharest - where he talked about the company's future plans, as well as about past decisions that proved successful.

"We did not anticipate the fall of the real estate market," said Hergan, who suggested that, after a very difficult 2009, the market is showing signs of recovery, amid heightened interest from foreign investors, as well as from international retailers, which continue their expansion.

Hergan signed rental contracts with Auchan and Decathlon for retail spaces in an 80 million-euro project that will be developed on a former platform of the Sicomed group, with the company to use its own financing resources and foreign funds, amid reluctance from banks to finance real estate projects.