The mall opened its doors in 2018, in an effort by the two investment companies to resurrect the Pantheon Plaza in Larissa, by converting it into a discount shopping center, implementing an investment of 9 million euros.
Sonae Sierra has been active in Greece since 2000, implementing its international strategy through a joint venture with the Charagionis group. In collaboration with Acropole Charagionis and Lamda Development, it developed the Mediterranean Cosmos in Thessaloniki, which is now owned by Lamda. Today, the Portuguese company has assets under management worth 7 billion euros.
On the other hand, Bluehouse’s Greek portfolio currently includes only the under-development Castello Bibelli in Corfu, which it has acquired in partnership with the Faces group. Bluehouse owned half of McArthurGlen in Spata until 2022, which was acquired by Lamda, renaming it Designer Outlet.
Amid legal battles – and – with former Bluehouse co-founder Yannis Delikanakis, the company’s current managers, Victor Pizantes and Charalambos Pandis, faced the revocation of the company’s operating license by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission last fall.
We recall that the war between the co-founders broke out 19 years after the founding of Bluehouse, which attracted 500 million euros in capital from Greek shipowners and other entrepreneurs, from the EBRD, the Rockefeller Foundation and other sources, while lawsuits were filed against the company by investors who spoke, among other things, of embezzlement.
Fashion City Outlet's turnover last year was 3.7 million, up 7%, while it showed profits of 144 thousand euros, up compared to 2023, although the fair value of the property decreased by 422 thousand. The mall had leased 39 of the total 72 stores, while the company has to repay a bond loan of 6 million.
Who is the buyer?
The buyer of the mall, an expatriate businessman from Venezuela, Panagiotis Konstantinou, has invested in Greek retail and real estate, with the main asset on Greek soil being the Athens Metro Mall in Agios Dimitrios, the only mall in the southern suburbs so far.
Athens Metro Mall recorded a turnover of 14.7 million and net profits of 1.3 million euros in 2023. In addition to the mall on Vouliagmeni, the group also runs other retail activities through the Diafanos home equipment chain, while it collaborates as a franchisee with major clothing brands, such as Benetton and Sisley.
The businessman was also planning a new shopping center in Metamorphosis, a project that seems to have been put on hold, although it had been included in the strategic investments.
The investment, amounting to over 90 million euros, but its implementation was delayed – initially – due to the pandemic. The Attica Region had also put a temporary brake by rejecting the Strategic Environmental Impact Study.
The mall was planned to be built on an area of approximately 86 acres on the borders of Metamorfosi and Lykovrysa-Pefki, with a final usable area of over 75,000 sq m, commercial stores, dining areas, a sports center, cinemas, a playground and numerous supporting facilities, such as a diagnostic center and a parking lot with more than 2,000 spaces.
Source: mononews.gr
