Branicks Group AG: Double opening at Neustadt Centrum Halle – REWE and Smyths Toys are launching new stores

Branicks Group AG: Double opening at Neustadt Centrum Halle – REWE and Smyths Toys are launching new stores

Frankfurt am Main, 19 March 2026

Press release

Branicks Group AG: Double opening at Neustadt Centrum Halle – REWE and Smyths Toys are launching new stores

•    New tenants add further highlights and boost the centre’s appeal even further

•    Retail spaces upgraded to the latest technical standards

•    The centre is almost fully let

Frankfurt, 19 March 2026 – Branicks Group AG (Branicks), ISIN: DE000A1X3XX4, one of Germany’s leading listed property companies, is delighted to join REWE and Smyths Toys in looking forward to the upcoming double opening at Neustadt Centrum Halle this coming Wednesday, 25 March 2026. Highly attractive offers, innovative retail spaces, state-of-the-art technical standards, as well as opening-day surprises and top-class entertainment for young and old alike – this is how REWE and Smyths Toys are launching at the Neustadt Centrum, adding further lustre and even greater appeal to the centre. A DJ will set the mood at the opening. Face painting and a clown will entertain our youngest guests. There will also be free glitter tattoos and candyfloss, as well as other great surprises.

“Come and have a look. The REWE team at Neustadt Centrum looks forward to seeing you,” says REWE store manager Robert Friedmann. “Smyths Toys invite you to visit the new branch of Europe’s largest toy retailer. Do pop in!” And Michael Schneider, the Branicks manager responsible for the centre, says: “REWE and Smyths Toys are adding new highlights to the Neustadt Centrum with its comprehensive range of retail, dining, services and entertainment. It’s a perfect fit for Halle and the whole region.”

REWE is opening a one-stop-shop supermarket covering a sales area of just under 3,500 square metres, offering a range of around 30,000 different items. Whether you’re doing a big shop, popping in during your lunch break or looking for fresh ingredients – the store has something to suit every occasion. “My team and I are delighted to welcome the people of Halle to our modern store,” says store manager Robert Friedmann. In future, 75 staff members will be on hand to assist customers with their shopping. The REWE Centre is open Monday to Friday from 6 am to 10 pm and on Saturdays from 6 am to 8 pm.

At a service counter over twenty metres long, customers can choose from a wide range of meat, sausage, fish, cheese and delicatessen products. Crisp greens and ready-made salad combinations are available at the salad bars. Whether for a quick lunch or to take away – the fresh food counters have something for everyone. Another special feature of the store will be the sushi bar, where small rice rolls are freshly prepared right in front of customers. The REWE store also includes the ‘deli am Markt’ bistro, whose menu features freshly prepared dishes such as soups, pasta, chicken drumsticks and burgers.

The REWE Centre in Neustadt Centrum makes use of state-of-the-art technology. In addition to five traditional checkouts, eight self-checkout stations allow customers to scan and pay for their shopping themselves. Customers using the ‘Scan&Go’ technology via smartphone or handheld scanner can scan products directly from the shelf, saving them the hassle of unpacking them again at the checkout. Thanks to the REWE Pay mobile payment function – available in the REWE app – customers can pay for their shopping quickly, conveniently and securely via smartphone. Payment is made by direct debit – directly from their current account.

Alongside REWE, Smyths Toys, the Irish toy retailer, is looking forward to the opening of its new superstore in Halle. Across a sales area of over 1,500 square metres, customers can expect a comprehensive range of well-known brands spanning classic toys, multimedia, outdoor and sports equipment for customers of all ages, all at consistently low prices. From dolls and games consoles to trampolines, Smyths Toys has everything to make the hearts of young and young-at-heart toy lovers beat faster.

With its new branch in Halle, Smyths Toys now has a total of 79 stores in Germany. The toy retailer was founded in Ireland more than thirty years ago by the Smyth brothers and today plays a leading role in the European market for toys, outdoor and baby products, with more than 200 stores in Ireland and England, as well as in Germany, Austria and Switzerland since 2018, and in France and the Netherlands since 2022.

In Halle, Smyths Toys will continue the toy retailer’s success story with its wide range, attractive value for money, high service standards and, not least, thanks to its knowledgeable and dedicated staff. 

Following weeks and months of intensive construction and refurbishment, everything is now ready for the grand reopening on 25 March. The actual construction period following the granting of the planning permission lasted only around nine months, during which the entire complex was upgraded to the latest technical standards. Centre Manager Michael Schneider: “It was effectively open-heart surgery, as the Neustadt Centrum remained open and operational throughout the entire construction period. Everyone involved, particularly the existing tenants, coped with this remarkably well. Now a new chapter of success begins for the centre.”

The Neustadt Centrum in Halle, which opened in 2000, is a multifunctional shopping centre within the commercial portfolio of Branicks Group AG. With a total floor area of 30,700 square metres, it offers visitors an attractive mix of retail outlets, restaurants, a modern multiplex cinema with eight screens, doctors’ surgeries and a wide range of services. It is fully let, with the exception of a few small areas. As a local shopping destination and social hub, the shopping centre attracts around 10,000 visitors from the region every day. Customers have access to 933 parking spaces in the centre’s own car park. Furthermore, the Neustadt Centrum is directly connected to the S-Bahn network.

About Branicks Group AG:
Branicks Group AG (formerly DIC Asset AG) is a leading German listed specialist for office and logistics real estate as well as renewable assets with over 25 years of experience in the real estate market and access to a broad investor network. Our basis is the national and regional real estate platform with nine offices in the ground in all major German markets (including VIB Vermögen AG). As of September 30, 2025, we managed properties with a market value of EUR 10.7 billion in the Commercial Portfolio and Institutional Business segments.

The Commercial Portfolio segment comprises real estate held for our own account. Here, we generate cash flows from stable rent revenues on long-term leases while also optimizing the value of our portfolio assets through active management and realizing gains from sales.

In the Institutional Business segment, we earn recurrent fees from real estate services we provide to national and international institutional investors by structuring and managing investment products that return attractive dividend yields.

The shares of Branicks Group AG are listed in the Prime Standard of the German Stock Exchange (WKN: A1X3XX / ISIN: DE000A1X3XX4).

The company is fully committed to sustainability and occupies top positions in ESG-relevant ratings such as Morningstar Sustainalytics and S&P Global CSA. The Branicks Group is also a signatory to the UN Global Compact and the UN PRI network. Properties in the Branicks portfolio have been awarded renowned sustainability certificates such as DGNB, LEED or BREEAM.

For more details, go to www.branicks.com

PR-Kontakt Branicks Group AG:

Stephan Heimbach

Neue Mainzer Straße 32-36

60311 Frankfurt am Main

Fon +49 69 9454858-1569

pr@branicks.com

IR-Kontakt Branicks Group AG:

Jasmin Dentz

Neue Mainzer Straße 32-36

60311 Frankfurt am Main

Fon +49 69 9454858-1492

ir@branicks.com

About REWE:
With a turnover of €31.6 billion (2024), more than 170,000 employees nationwide and 3,800 stores, REWE Markt GmbH is one of the leading companies in the German food retail sector. REWE and nahkauf stores are operated as company-owned branches or by independent retailers.

REWE PR contact:
REWE Corporate Communications

Vanessa Kordas

Rheinstraße 8

14513 Teltow

+49 3328 3314 193 | +49 151 5512 0010

vanessa.kordas@rewe-group.com

About Smyths Toys
Smyths Toys, a family-run business founded in Ireland over thirty years ago, is now a market leader in Europe for toys and baby products, with more than 200 stores across Ireland, England, the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), the Netherlands and France, as well as country-specific online shops. With its wide-ranging selection of toys, outdoor products, multimedia and baby goods, Smyths Toys offers the most comprehensive range in the industry. Through its highly popular and convenient multi-channel approach, exceptionally high service standards and product quality at consistently fair and affordable prices, the Smyths Toys concept offers its customers significant added value.

For more details, go to www.smythstoys.com

PR contact Smyths Toys

Smyths Toys Deutschland SE & Co. KG

Public Relations

Hugo-Eckener-Str. 20 

50829 Köln

presse@smythstoys.com