Nicolae Ciobanu, Managing Partner – Head of Advisory at Fortim Trusted Advisors, talked to Property Forum about the firm’s growth in office leasing and land transactions, as well as the outlook on rents and the role of the defense sector in boosting industrial demand going forward.

Romanian public investment fund Lion Capital is the main buyer of a new bond issuance of PK Development Holding, a company controlled by Prime Kapital, which is guaranteed by a mortgage in the recently opened Mall Moldova.  

Investor interest is diversifying, with hotels and office properties being the most sought-after segments in H1 2025, and a growing trend of repurposing older office buildings into hotels or residential use, according to experts of Colliers Hungary.

In Prague, more people are seeking professionally managed apartments offering flexibility and a certain standard of service. According to the Savills Rental Housing in Prague report, the popularity of rental housing is growing, with the institutional sector attracting both investors and tenants.

M Core is expanding its Romanian portfolio with a new retail development located in Bucharest.

A coalition of over 10,000 hotels across Europe has initiated a class‑action lawsuit in the Netherlands against Booking.com, alleging that the platform’s now‑banned “best price” or rate parity clauses violated EU competition law between 2004 and 2024. These clauses prohibited hotels from offering lower prices through other channels or on their own websites, which the European Court of Justice ruled unlawful in September 2024

Local developer One United Properties has signed a preliminary agreement to acquire a plot of land located on the former FLARO industrial platform in Sibiu. 

Shanghai Pret Composites, a manufacturer of polymer composites for the automotive and industrial sectors, has signed a lease agreement for a production facility in Opole. The deal, facilitated by Savills Polska, marks the company's first investment in Poland and is part of its broader European expansion strategy.

StudentSpace, a student housing platform, has secured PLN 177.8 million in financing from Bank Pekao S.A. to support the development of three modern student dormitories in Kraków. Since its inception in 2024, the platform has actively acquired land for future developments. It is currently delivering three projects across two locations in Kraków, which will be ready to accommodate over 1,200 students starting from the upcoming academic year.

In Q2 2025, the slowdown of the Slovak industrial real estate market has continued. Developers are facing several challenges, according to the Industrial Research Forum (IRF) overview of the logistics and industrial real estate market in Slovakia.