OREANDA-NEWS. January 28, 2008. As part of the strategy to expand into Russia’s regional centers, the RTM Group and the SportMaster Group of Companies which is the leader in the Russian and CIS sporting and leisure goods markets have signed eight pre-lease agreements on leasing space in four shopping and entertainment centers that are currently under construction, the company's press service reported.

Under the 10-year lease, SportMaster is going to rent from RTM a total of 9,400 sq. m. of store space in the latter’s four shopping and entertainment centers in Samara, Odintsovo (Moscow Region), Lipetsk and St. Petersburg, currently under construction. The space in question will be used to house such sporting and leisure goods stores as Sportmaster and O’Stin.

“The signing of these contracts carries a lot of significance to the strategic development of our companies and will allow us to grow even more successfully and dynamically“, noted Vadim Prikhodko, ZAO RTM Development’s Deputy General Director for Marketing and Lease. “SportMaster has been our long-standing partner, and we hope that this partnership will continue to be fruitful and beneficial to both companies."

In the near-term, the two companies are planning to cooperate further on expanding their presence in the Russian regions.