Balfin Group, the largest investment group in Albania is pleased to announce the sale of Skopje City Mall to Hystead Limited of the United Kingdom for €92 mln.

Skopje City Mall was designed, constructed and operated by Balfin MK and opened in late 2012. Located in the urban part of the capital of Macedonia Skopje, Skopje City Mall is the first modern shopping centre in Macedonia with a completely new concept that brings together shopping, entertainment and companionship.

As the largest centre of this kind in the region, Skopje City Mall grows to be a new landmark of modern Skopje and first destination of the global brands such as Inditex Group (Zara, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Pull & Bear and Stradivarius), Tom Tailor, Nike, Cineplexx, Nine West and many others of its 130 shops. With over 7 mln visitors per year, Skopje City Mall is the most visited and successful mall in Macedonia.

Hystead Limited (Hystead), a United Kingdom based company, is a joint venture between Hyprop Investments Limited (Hyprop) (60%) and PDI Investment Holdings Limited (40%). Hyprop is a publicly listed shopping centre Real Estate Investment Trust in South Africa, with a market value of over €2 bln. The purchase of Skopje City Mall follows Hystead’s purchase of other shopping malls in the region earlier this year, and forms part of Hystead’s strategy of creating an emerging European shopping centre fund.

Balfin Group is one of the largest private investment groups in Albania and region. Our investment portfolio can be classified in the activities of real estate development, retail, commercial and industrial space management and services, telecommunication, customer financing, mineral industry, tourism, energy and agriculture. Balfin Group is a well respected actor both in the Albanian and international markets operating in 10 countries.