Argo’s Ukraine project reaches practical completion

The London fund has managed to let 75 percent of a shopping centre project and is due to open the scheme in Odessa this autumn.

Argo Real Estate Opportunities Fund has completed its flagship shopping mall development in the Ukraine.

The fund, which specializes in central and eastern Europe, said phase two of Riviera Shopping City in Odessa had reached practical completion stage.

The 83,000 square metre property consists of retail and entertainment units and is the largest opening of a centre in Ukraine this year and among the largest centres in the country.

It is just over 75 percent let and is scheduled to open to the public in the autumn.

Robert Provine, fund manager, said the firm had been able to maintain construction and leasing through the “very challenging period”.

Zara, the Spanish clothing chain, is among the retailers to have taken space.

The area surrounding the project is a residential zone consisting of luxury villas and seaside gated communities.

Argo Real Estate Opportunities Fund, which changed its name last February from North Real Estate Opportunities fund, is a Guernsey based closed-ended investment company. The company listed on the London Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investment Market and is managed by Argo Capital Management.