The mayor of Ljubljana, Zoran Janković and the SEE Real Estate Manager at IKEA, Vladislav Lalić signed the Memorandum of Understanding defining the commitment and intentions of both clients at the possible opening of an IKEA shop in Ljubljana.

The City of Ljubljana and the IKEA Company agree to work closely in the spirit of progress and realisation of actions, defined in the Memorandum. The IKEA Group has been researching the possibility of opening a shop in Slovenia since 2006 when they began expanding to the south-east Europe, which was at that time a term for Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia. The plans for the Slovenian market predict opening an IKEA shop with a comprehensive offer of products for a home in the size of around 30.000 square metres, and employing around 300 people. The value of the investment is estimated at 80 million Euros. The signing of the Memorandum is the next step in accomplishing the plans of the IKEA's arrival in Slovenia.

Mayor of City of Ljubljana, Zoran Janković who has been supporting the IKEA interest in Slovenia from the beginning, has stated at the Memorandum signing: "I am especially happy about the today's signing as we have been preparing for this day for the last seven years. It only proves the perseverance does pay off and confirms the principle of hard work and its results. An IKEA shop contributes to the added value of Ljubljana and Slovenia, and it stands as an important message to every potential investor that Ljubljana is a city of open arms to everyone who is looking for an investment."

The SEE Real Estate Manager at IKEA, Vladislav Lalić has also expressed his satisfaction at the document signing. "The Memorandum of Understanding is a step closer to the possible realisation of our plan to open and IKEA shop in Slovenia, specifically in Ljubljana. We are aware Slovenians visit our shops in the neighbouring countries, and we wish to move our offer closer to them. The Memorandum is a representation of the serious commitment of our company and the City of Ljubljana to continue as partners in gaining the necessary documentation and begin with the infrastructure arrangement, required to building an IKEA shop," was stated at the Memorandum signing. He added the decision confirmation of the IKEA shop development is dependable to internal factors within the IKEA Group and the external factors, for example, the alteration and addition to the municipal spatial plan (OPN), mostly the part on building the planned street network.

Vladislav Lalić has also confirmed they have been negotiating with the land owners in the BTC City, which are still in process.

Memorandum is also welcomed by Jože Mermal, President of the BTC Management Board: "We are very glad to have the IKEA open its shopping centre next to the BTC City with more than 21 million visitors annually. The offer of existing retailing, business, sports, cultural and entertainment BTC City will be richer for one of the most popular furniture franchises in the world. The introduction of the IKEA programme makes it easier to proceed with the Patnerstvo Šmartinska project, while opening the shop will have many positive effects for the Slovenian economy, industry of wood and furniture manufacturers, and our capital – persevering consumption of the segment on our grounds and building a new object will give the Slovenian construction business an additional investment momentum.

The opening date of IKEA in Slovenia is not known, but it is in the experience of other countries to usually follow the land purchase by its infrastructure arrangement and construction permit, followed by a year to complete the shop building.