Estonia, EU – Baltic States, Forum, Good for Business, Real Estate

Ülemiste shopping centre has become the award winner in the category of refurbishment/ expansion. Frode Gronvold, the CEO of Linstow Center Management, is of the opinion that such victory overtaking Turkey that is the leading country in Europe in shopping centre investments, is a great success. “Investments made into the development of a modern shopping centre, keeping abreast of the City of Tallinn, the environment and its infrastructure, demands of customers and lessees, have been worthwhile. Such top assessment confirms that the work contributed has been appreciated and we are among the elite of shopping centres in Europe,” stressed Frode Gronvold.

Before naming the award winners, the international jury visited all shopping centres that were in the shortlist of finalists. During the visit, not only exterior and interior of centres were evaluated, they paid interest also to the centre management, customer services and role in the community, economic indices before and after expansion. The decision was made by professionals of the sector who have experience in work with shopping centres in Europe.

The shortlist of finalists of the European Shopping Centre Awards comprised 12 shopping centres from Europe. Competition was held in three categories: refurbished/ expanded shopping centres, new developments and established centres. The most serious competitor of Ülemiste shopping centre was Maltepe Park shopping centre in Istanbul, with sales area of 75,000 m2 that houses 250 stores. The winners were announced in the annual ICSC European Conference held in Milan.

The refurbished Ülemiste shopping centre was completed in October 2014. Upon completion of refurbishment, its gross building area reaches almost 60,000 m² and it is the largest fashion and family centre in Estonia focusing on a wide choice of goods and catering options as well as creation of interior design and pleasant shopping environment. The owner and developer of Ülemiste shopping centre is a Norway-based company, Linstow AS.