Money seeks a neighbor, not a bank
Lviv-based WR Group plans to launch a REIT fund — a tool where money for construction of retail facilities comes not from banks, but from private investors who receive a share of rental profits. The company's founder Petro Puniak told LIGA.net about this.
"The company plans to launch an investment fund where we will debut with five retail facilities that we will build through attracted investments," he noted.
This involves retail parks of approximately 10,000 sq. m in suburbs and district centers near Lviv — places where there are no traditional shopping centers, but there is traffic and residential development.
Why now
Traditional lending for large commercial projects during the war has become more expensive and complicated: banks are cautious about long repayment periods, insurance risks have increased, and developers need quick money for specific facilities. The REIT model allows circumventing this problem — attracting funds directly from individuals or investor groups, exchanging capital for a share in the future rental income stream.
Puniak clarified that the company already works with both mono-investors and investor groups — meaning REIT formalizes a practice that already effectively exists.
Lviv as a testing ground for small formats
Despite the war, Lviv and the region have become a point of activity for commercial real estate developers — not only the regional center, but also cities with populations from 15,000. Over two years of full-scale war, WR Group has opened five retail facilities — in Lviv, Drohobych, Truskavets, and Sheptytskyi.
This year the company launched the Galas commercial-office center of 13,250 sq. m in the Safe Town residential district, and by year-end plans to open a smaller facility on Pyrohivka Street (3,000 sq. m) — also within a new residential complex. The logic is the same: build where new residential traffic already exists, rather than compete for old downtown locations.
Construction of the Skelya shopping center of 25,000 sq. m in Stryi continues, which began in 2025, but the exact opening date is not announced — a typical situation for projects dependent on financing pace during wartime.
What this means for those who aren't developers
If the REIT fund works, it will be one of the first public examples of collective investment in commercial real estate in Ukraine during wartime — previously such money entered mainly through private agreements, without transparent rules for exit or profit distribution. WR Group's current portfolio includes 17 facilities, half of which have been implemented already during the war, with another 10 in progress.
The question remains open: will private investors agree to invest in district-scale commercial real estate when deposit and government bond rates remain high and safer — or will the REIT model take root only as a way to quickly raise money for a specific project, rather than as a long-term savings instrument.
