Mia Zecevic, CEO of Novaston – Trust is the Foundation of Every Successful Business

Another challenging year which has been marked by the coronavirus pandemic is slowly drawing to a close. On that occasion, we talked to Mia Zecevic, the CEO of Novaston, about the results, the current situation in the real estate market, business projects and future ambitions.

Mia Zecevic emphasized that, in today’s business environment, trust is what’s most important. It is precisely thanks to its high reliability that the company Novaston has now positioned itself as a leader in the field of retail industry, management and lease of real estate. The stabilization of the circumstances and the achieved results have enabled a more intensive consideration of the expansion of the activities and the business. Important projects in the upcoming period for Novaston will be an increased presence in the market of Croatia and investments in the office space segment, where there’s “a chronic lack” when it comes to the offer.

eKapija: The year 2021 is drawing to a close. Just like the previous one, this year has been full of challenges. How has Novaston coped in the changed circumstances? Have you achieved your set goals?

– Trust is the foundation of every successful business. In Serbia and the region, Novaston has already positioned as a highly reliable and professional company, whose teams of experts apply, with local and international experience, modern technologies and solutions, approaching each client individually. Positioned in the retail sector, we are continuing to modernize and develop our platform, primarily in the sectors of office space and logistics. We also have big project plans in the region, and, until then, we are continuing the successful cooperation with nearly all the main local and foreign investors and companies (IMMOFINANZ, NEPI Rockcastle, GTC, Ikea, BIG CEE, Schneider Electric, MK Group, Aleksandar Gradnja, AB Market, Granit Invest).

eKapija: Novaston has already become a recognized name in the management of retail parks and shopping centers. What is your estimation of the current situation in the market?

– The current situation can be assessed as stable. After the first quarter of 2021, there were no strong restrictive measures that would impact the operations of shopping centers and retail parks, which has had a positive impact on the growth of the number of visitors, as well as the growth of revenues. For example, the revenues at the most visited retail parks that Novaston manages grew 3% in 2020, whereas a bigger growth of 16% is recorded this year, compared to the same period in 2020.

It’s interesting that the growth of revenues is not followed by an increase in the number of visitors. Last year, the traffic in said retail parks dropped considerably, 12% on average, whereas, in 2021, it grew 10%. So, the traffic has not yet returned to the level from 2019, by about 2%, which can be explained with the increase of the consumer habits of the visitors, the general economic situation and the increase of prices in the market.

Our experience shows that, regardless of the epidemiological conditions, there is still a demand for retail spaces in secondary cities, as confirmed by the opening of the Puls Shopping Park in Pirot, which we now manage as the operator. Investors’ appetites when it comes to the purchase of retail centers and strengthening the positions in the retail market are still there. Examples which show this are the purchases of SC Kragujevac Plaza and Krusevac Shopping Park by BIG Shopping Centers, in which our company also mediated exclusively. MPC Properties recently bought Delta City Shopping Center, whereas our long-term strategic partner, Austria’s IMMOFINANZ, bought four retail parks of Poseidon Group.

eKapija: Can a better environment when it comes to retail parks be expected to be established in the upcoming year?

– The upcoming year will also be marked by new adjustments, just like this year was a year of recovery and adaptation. On the other hand, the business environment will depend on ourselves, on the way we will use business, finance and energy resources. We expect retail parks to keep having stable operations and that the as-of-yet-unleased spaces will be leased quickly, because the new-old tenants are expanding and developing.

A great concern for all stakeholders is the current situation in the energy market, that is, the big increase in the price of electrical energy, which turns us toward renewable energy sources, recycling and circular economy. When it comes to Novaston, we have finalized the lease of the retail space at Ava Shopping Park, which is developing right next to the IKEA Department Store in Bubanj Potok. Construction works are in progress and our project team is working in parallel on the coordination, harmonization and approval of the tenants’ projects.

eKapija: The latest information from the market points to a serious lack of office space. How do you see this situation and what are the plans of Novaston in this market segment?

– Yes, of course, we could say that there’s a “chronic” lack of office space. When it comes to the total floor area in offices, we are still far behind Budapest, Sofia, Bucharest. On the other hand, the constant growth of the IT industry, both the new companies and the opening or moving of the regional centers of the existing companies to Belgrade, further increases the demand for quality office space. Many new projects have already started, and those that are completed have been leased at the planned prices.

One of the consequences of the pandemic is the development of a combined model of office space, and the advantages when it comes to the lease is given to modern buildings with an option of natural ventilation and adapted central air-conditioning systems.

Our company actively focuses of adapting the projects to the market, primarily those who, for various reasons, did not “take root” and enable a modern form of doing business to their tenants. I would also add that, here, as in the region, there’s not enough available industrial and warehouse space in the most attractive locations, which also leads to the constant increase of logistics space rent. That is a sector where there are plenty of opportunities for doing business.

eKapija: Throughout the year, we’ve often been hearing announcements about how you want to position yourself in the sector of office space and logistics. What is going on in that segment of Novaston’s business? Are any new projects being announced?

– Our Novaston Asset Management, as part of our platform, is the exclusive representative for the lease of attractive office space “Revolucija” in Belgrade. This is a facility with an area of c. 10,000 m2, built by the company Granit Invest in Vracar. At the same time, with companies Schneider Electric and Novkabel, we are active in the development of the future facility of the Development Center of Schneider Electric in Novi Sad (around 20,000 m2 of gross area). We also cooperate with other big companies and investors on the development of various office facilities such as the future office space in Vuka Karadzica Street. We are also following the new concepts that the “new normal” is bringing, which, among other things, entail higher efficiency and digital solutions for contactless communication.

eKapija: What are your plans for the upcoming period? Where does Novaston want to position itself in the challenging real estate market?

– In addition to the current and future projects in Serbia, we will dedicate ourselves to an even better positioning in the Croatian market. We have directed special attention to a large residential-tourist project in Istria, with over 250 luxury vacation or residential properties, with a gross area of c. 100,000 m2. There, we are engaged in the setting up of the entire system – asset, property and facility management and organization, including marketing. We are active in Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and we are also expanding our business in Slovenia and Macedonia.

Nikola Ignjatovic

Novaston d.o.o. Beograd

Immofinanz Services d.o.o. Beograd

Balkans Real Estate d.o.o. Beograd

Ušće tower d.o.o. Beograd

Aleksandar gradnja d.o.o. Novi Sad

Granit Invest d.o.o. Beograd

AB MARKET DOO PIROT

MK Group d.o.o. Beograd

Schneider Electric Srbija d.o.o. Beograd

Cee Group d.o.o. Beograd

IKEA Srbija d.o.o. Beograd

GTC Business Park Beograd

NEPI Real Estate Project One d.o.o. Novi Sad

Novaston

Immofinanz

NEPI Rockcastle

GTC

Ikea

BIG CEE

Schneider Electric

MK Group

MPC Properties

Aleksandar Gradnja

AB Market

Granit Invest

Kruševac Shopping Park

Puls Shopping Park

Delta City Shopping Center

Poseidon Group

Novkabel

IKEA

Mia Zečević

Ava Shopping Park

Budapest

Sofia

Bucharest

Istria

office space

business space

warehouse space

Novaston Asset Management

Revolucija office space

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