ROMANIA: 40 million euro infusion for Profi’s expansion, from EBRD and Raiffeisen Bank | Progresiv
Profi stores chain, owned by Polish investment fund Enterprise Investors, has signed a loan agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Raiffeisen Bank in amount of 177 million lei (about 40 million euros). The money will fuel the retailer's expansion in Romania, where the main stake has been moved to the rural area. 
“Profi’s business plan for the next three years, equally optimistic and realistic, features a pace of openings of at least 100 stores annually”, according to Dumitru Dragomir, CFO of Profi Rom Food.
“As far as we know, this is probably the most dynamic expansion in European retail, and to achieve our objective we contracted a club loan made to ensure the financial resources needed”, de added.
The chain’s owners also said that they were encouraged to make these new investments by the economic growth in the past year as a result of measures taken by the Romanian Government.
With 382 stores in 181 cities and over 9,500 employees, Profi is currently the retailer with the most extensive nationwide chain. In 2015, Profi estimated a net turnover of 550 million euros, up by 30% from the previous year, according to data provided by Daniel Cirstea, CEO Profi Rom Food, to Progresiv.
