July 22, 2009 - The EBRD is supporting the modernisation of the retail sector in Croatia with a Euro 25 million loan to Spar Croatia, to finance the regional expansion of its retail chain.
Spar Croatia d.o.o., fully owned by Spar Austria, is one of the leading hypermarket format retailers in Croatia, operating six stores throughout the country, of which four are located outside the capital Zagreb.
The proceeds of the EBRD loan will help Spar Croatia to acquire the retail operations from the Italian group Coop Consumatori Nordest in Croatia and to refurbish the new stores. With the EBRD support Spar Croatia will extend its retail network to ten hypermarkets.
This project foster will further development of the retail sector in Croatia by bringing modern retail experience and offering to consumers a diverse choice of competitively priced products and better quality services. It will also benefit producers in Croatia by supporting strong links with local food and beverages suppliers.
The project is co-financed by Spar Austria, which is providing the additional funds through a capital increase.
“This project will promote further competition in the Croatian retail sector and will help Spar consolidate its position in the hypermarkets segment. With the EBRD support, Spar Croatia will open new modern hypermarkets in the country, benefiting customers through quality services and goods, and supporting regional development of Croatia,” said EBRD First Vice President Varel Freeman.
In the agribusiness sector, the EBRD has directly committed more than €5.1 billion in over 340 projects across central and eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States.
To date the EBRD has committed close to €2.1 billion to the Croatian economy through more than 80 projects in the corporate, financial, infrastructure and energy sectors. The EBRD funds attracted additional investments worth €3 billion from other sources.