Straco Real Estate and Baltisse announce the successful acquisition of a majority stake in SPEEDWELL, a premier real estate developer based in Romania. This strategic move solidifies Baltisse and Straco's commitment to expanding their presence in Eastern Europe, leveraging SPEEDWELL's established reputation and expertise in the region.

The two main shareholders of One United Properties, Victor Căpitanu and Andrei Diaconescu, sold shares in the company alongside minority shareholders CC Trust AG and Altius SA. 

Last year was a year of gradual recovery in demand and relative stabilization for Ukraine’s warehouse property market. Recall that 2022 was a year of forced demand, with rental activity supported by relocations to safer locations and the search for new premises to replace the destroyed ones. In 2023, the market moved from the stage of survival to the stage of moderate development. Iryna Nastych summarised what happened in the warehouse market in 2023 and what to expect this year together with experts in an article prepared by the Ukrainian Real Estate Club for Property Forum.

Panattoni has built another investment in Lesser Poland. City Logistics Kraków Airport II is located near the Kraków-Balice International Airport, where a new cargo terminal is being constructed. The facility is suitable for e-commerce and last-mile logistics. The investment was made on a speculative basis and already has its first tenant - Allegro.

Bucharest still has some of the lowest fit-out costs in the region for offices, despite an increase of around 15-20% during the past 12 months, according to Cushman & Wakefield Echinox data. Office fit-out costs in Bucharest have an average of €943 per sqm, which is 32% below Warsaw and Prague, and 32% above Sofia, which has the most advantageous costs in the region.

Futureal Investment Partners, a member of Futureal Group, has finalized the ESG repositioning of its Wratislavia Tower in Wrocław, Poland. During the process, the building also received a BREEAM Excellent in-use certificate. The retrofitting project followed Futureal's "Office Impact Strategy," whereby older office buildings are being redeveloped to meet modern ESG market standards.

Warehouse developer LemonTree has joined the United Nations Global Compact initiative under the aegis of the UN. This initiative aims to support companies in implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals. At the same time, LemonTree joined the Climate Positive programme, which implements the climate goals set by the UN.

Ostrava is dynamically changing for the better, partly through civic initiatives but mainly thanks to key development investments with the support of the city. One of the basic conditions for the revival of the city centre is also an increase in the number of residents. Currently, a private investor is planning construction on a brownfield at the intersection of Stodolní, Porážková and Masná streets. The city selected the location as its development area and put out a tender for the land. The winning project was Rezidence Stodolní from the development company Linkcity.

YIT has completed the third residential stage of Tornio, which expanded the multifunctional complex Lappi Hloubětín in Prague 9 with 79 new apartments. Almost half of the units are currently sold out.

Romania saw new construction volumes expand by 64% in 2023 compared to the previous year, reaching also a record in gross value and growth rate from the past decade, according to the EBI Construction Activity Report.