Famous Shopping Center on Auction for 11.2 Million Euros

One of the most well-known shopping complexes in the Croatian Zagorje has ended up on e-auction due to a banking foreclosure. UniCredit Bank Austria has initiated the sale of the center Roses Designer Outlet in Začretje, which is valued at around 14 million euros. However, the bar for the first auction has been set at 11.16 million euros, below which the property cannot be sold at the first auction.

The entry fee for this auction is 1.4 million euros. Namely, potential buyers need to pay this deposit to Fina by October 26, and the collection of bids starts on November 4 and will last for 15 days.

Almost the entire real estate unit of Roses Designer Outlet is for sale: the main plot of 59,387 square meters with commercial buildings, a yard, and a parking lot, as well as a series of surrounding lands. The total area of the covered plots approaches 100 thousand square meters, while the footprint of the registered buildings is about 15,750 square meters.

The court ruling states that the properties are not free of persons and things, which means that the sale itself does not automatically lock the door. The further fate of the few remaining tenants will depend on the outcome of the auction itself, the moves of the new owner, and the contracts that individual stores have with the owner or manager of the center.

The loan dates back to the time of the construction of Roses

The current owner of the center is the company Rosis Unus, and the debt that led to the foreclosure has been around since the very construction of the center. The loan agreement was concluded in March 2008, just before the opening, after which bank mortgages were registered on the properties during 2008 and 2009.

Court documents show that the fundamental loan agreement has been amended as many as nine times. Such a series of annexations and modifications of repayment terms clearly indicates that the problem did not occur overnight – for years, attempts were made to redefine the debt and keep the project alive before the foreclosure finally arrived.

The total outstanding claim of the bank against Rosis Unus in 2021 amounted to 12.21 million euros

Closure the day after opening

The story of Roses began with much greater ambitions. The Austrian group Dayland announced in 2007 an investment of 50 million euros and the opening of the first 72 stores in September 2008. The project was promoted as the first Croatian factory outlet, located along the Zagreb – Macelj highway and close enough to Zagreb, Maribor, and Ljubljana.

The contract for the construction of the first phase, signed in February 2008 by Rosis Unus and Zagorje Tehnobeton, was worth 80 million kuna. It covered about 14 thousand square meters, 70 stores, and a thousand parking spaces. The difference between that amount and the then advertised 50 million euros stemmed from the fact that the larger amount referred to the total planned project, along with further phases of development.

Just before the opening, the investor announced that 96 percent of the space had been leased. However, the start of operations turned into a debacle. After the VIP opening on November 7, 2008, the economic inspection closed the center because some stores did not meet minimum technical requirements, and according to contemporary media reports, some premises lacked occupancy permits, electricity, and water.

Unofficial information also emerged that the center was opened hastily due to financing problems and that the investor had received only part of the contracted money from the bank. Co-owner of Rosis Unus and long-time director of Roses Designer Outlet, Roman Rogović, firmly denied financing problems at the time.

The center continued to operate after meeting the conditions, and its expansion was announced several times. However, significant expansion was not realized.

Pandemic, empty storefronts, and announced transformation

Roses has been trying for years to attract well-known brands. The center hosted Nike, Adidas, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Diesel, Benetton, Replay, and other international names. The pandemic dealt a new blow. In June 2021, just a few months after UniCredit’s mortgage agreements became enforceable, Rogović stated for Lider that the center’s revenue had fallen by about 20 percent and that three tenants had closed their stores since the onset of the coronavirus crisis.

The image of the center gradually became visibly worse, and the media reported on numerous empty storefronts, lower attendance, and rumors of closure. Rogović denied the closure, announced changes in ownership structure, more active management, and the arrival of new tenants, but this did not materialize.

Owner without employees and with 6,493 euros in the account

The financial report for 2025 shows the deep over-indebtedness of the center’s owner. Rosis Unus, which has no employees, reduced its business income by 19 percent to 1.15 million euros and ended the year with a loss of 1.68 million euros. Despite the decline in revenue, the cost of managing the center remained at 366 thousand euros, while marketing spending was reduced by 83 percent to just 14,550 euros.

Total carried forward and current losses reached 28.64 million euros, while obligations amounted to 35.1 million euros. Only 6,493 euros remained in the account and cash register, while financial expenses in one year amounted to nearly one million euros.

Even the sale of the complex at the full estimated value of nearly 14 million euros is not enough to cover the company’s total obligations.