Prologis announced that Martin Baláž has been promoted to Vice President, Country Manager, Prologis Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Cresa has prepared its latest report “Retail Occupier Economics” on the condition of the Polish retail market with data on retail stock by format and location, planned supply, retail space saturation rates, retail sales growth, new brands on the market and investor interest in the sector.

Panattoni Europe returns to Legnica with a new project. The developer has commenced works on the first modern distribution centre in the Legnica area, planned to total in excess of 100,000 sqm. The platform has already secured its first tenant, for whom 23,300 sqm is being delivered in a single building.

At the end of 2018, modern office stock in Poland’s eight biggest cities (Krakow, Wrocław, Tricity, Katowice, Poznań, Łódź, Szczecin and Lublin) stood at more than 4.9 million sqm (+12% y/y). Krakow, Wrocław and Tricity topped the league table for total office stock. The Wrocław office market was the second regional city after Krakow to see its volume of office space exceed one million sqm. Cushman & Wakefield has summarized 2018 on Poland’s regional office markets.

Prologis announced the acquisition of 2.4 hectares in the highly sought-after Prague logistics market. The site is next to the D1 highway, the Czech Republic’s main arterial route.

Hong Kong will retain its title as the world’s most expensive office market despite rents being forecast to decrease in 2019, according to Knight Frank’s latest Global Outlook Report. Knight Frank's chief economist believes that there is a compelling global case for continued rental growth across the global cities.

Cushman & Wakefield in collaboration with Hodges Ward & Elliott represented Mornington Capital, an international hotel investment fund manager in the sale of Prague’s iconic Don Giovanni Hotel in Prague. The deal was signed on 20 February with the transaction price undisclosed. The new owner is a leading family-owned fund from Scandinavia. Czech-based Czech Inn Hotels remains the hotel’s operator.

Panattoni Europe has engaged in cooperation with Sense Monitoring, the supplier of smart automation and control systems for flat roof surfaces. Their first joint project will be a facility for a leading logistics provider, currently under construction a short distance from Warsaw. The roof surface in excess of 40,000 sqm will be fitted with the Sense S-One system. It will assist facility management in terms of roof structure integrity and help reduce maintenance costs.

It’s no surprise that expansion of the European logistics real estate market continued in 2018, with another strong year for occupier demand, lowest vacancy rates and long anticipated rent growth began to materialize. At the start of 2019 concerns increased around capital market volatility and potential impact to global GDP due to US-China trade tensions and Brexit. Even though the logistics real estate market ended 2018 on a strong note, some increased concerns at the start of the year raise the inevitable question: what can we expect in 2019? Prologis looked at the top trends influencing the market this year.

The Heweliusza 18 office building has been given a valid occupancy permit. Tenants will start to move into the building from spring.