Indotec Group, a prominent European real estate investment and asset management company based in Budapest, has purchased the Espacio Leon shopping center in Spain for approximately 50 million euros. The property was previously owned by American investment firm Blackstone, according to a statement released by Indotec.
Government-linked Indotech Group buys Spanish shopping centre
The Espacio Leon shopping centre in Spain, acquired by the Indotech Group. Photo: espacioleon.es
The acquisition, located in Spain’s Castilla y Leon region, was funded by Banco Santander. Espacio León, which opened in 2004 and was renovated in 2018, attracts around 4.1 million visitors per year, according to Telex. The shopping centre boasts 112 retail stores, 1,277 parking spaces, 36,914 square metres of leasable area and is currently operating at a 93% occupancy rate.
Indotec Group, which already owns 1,600 hotel rooms on the Spanish coast, is expanding its presence on the Iberian Peninsula. The group also owns shopping centers, shopping parks, supermarkets and industrial properties in the region. Last year, it also acquired two shopping centers in Valencia and Barcelona.
Indotech Group, which operates in 13 European countries, is owned by businessman Daniel Jelinek, who has benefited from government-backed investments. In recent years, some of Jelinek’s businesses have given financial benefits through preferred shares to István Tyborcs, the son-in-law of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Jelinek’s remarkable success thanks to government-backed investment
Daniel Jelinek, owner of Indotek Group. Photo: Indotek.hu
In 2023, Indotech acquired a 47% stake in French retailer Auchan’s Hungarian business and 100% of its so-called “Corridor” business, which manages commercial space outside supermarket checkout areas, including pharmacies, key-making services and various other shops.
Jelinek’s companies have also had remarkable success in securing government support for projects such as the Kisfaludy project, which financed hotel development in the region. According to an investigative report by Varas Online, Jelinek’s companies were among the main beneficiaries of state-funded capital projects run by the Hungarian Development Bank (MFB), which allocated large amounts of funding to his businesses.
Jelinek is one of Hungary’s richest people, and his business empire transferred around 27 billion forints (around 70 million euros) to István Tiborcz’s business circle between 2019 and 2022. Similar amounts also mysteriously appeared in Tiborcz’s most important companies during this period, but the source of these funds has not been disclosed and Tiborcz refused to explain when questioned.
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