Construction and assembly output generated by Polish construction companies in foreign markets has hit an all-time high of €1.55 billion, but this is still below the potential of domestic contractors. Importantly, a considerable change to the structure of companies engaged in foreign orders took place in recent years – the centre of gravity has shifted from the biggest construction groups to smaller companies with a specialised focus.

CTP is starting 2019 with the announcement of ambitious development plans in three of its markets, the Czech Republic, Serbia and Hungary.

Catalyst Capital, a European real estate investment and fund management firm, has completed the acquisition of €194 million of high-quality retail assets in Sweden, Germany, Poland and an office development in Paris for its new Catalyst Core Plus European Property Fund (CCPEPF), a €1 billion “evergreen” real estate fund. Catalyst has acquired Galleria Center Syd in Malmo from Baring Real Estate, the Rathaus Center Dietzenbach near Frankfurt from Hahn Group, the Zielony Targówek retail park in Warsaw from Credit Suisse Asset Management and agreed to forward fund an office development by VINCI Immobilier in Saint-Denis, Paris.

Bluehouse completed the acquisition of Novodvorska Plaza shopping centre in Prague. CBRE represented the buyer in the off-market acquisition of the 25,000 sqm shopping centre.

The Polish commercial real estate market is in the best shape it has ever been, posting a record-high investment volume that exceeded €7 billion in 2018. Office and industrial sectors, in particular, are setting new highs with last year’s trading volumes at nearly €2.6 billion and nearly €1.9 billion, respectively.

Construction works have started on the extension of the Colosseum commercial centre in the northwestern part of Bucharest. Colosseum Mall represents the most important retail development in Bucharest during the last three years, a period during which the purchasing power per capita at the city level increased by almost 20%.

Industrial and logistics developer Element Industrial has received the building permit for ELI PARK 1 and has started the construction works. The park will offer 45,000 sqm of warehouse and office space following an investment of €25 million.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a €60 million loan agreement with ArtN Sp. z o.o., a subsidiary of Capital Park S.A., for a flagship project to revitalise the former Norblin factory site in central Warsaw. This is the first EIB transaction in Poland with a real estate investor under a project financing scheme.

2018 ended with a significant premiere on the local real estate market: Romanian investors ranked second in the generated volumes by nationality. Almost €200 million were spent to buy commercial properties (about a quarter of the total volume), a significant leap of more than five times compared with 2017, according to Colliers International.

The largest privately owned hostel-chain in Europe a&o Group will open its first quarters in Budapest in 2019. The German group creates a modern hostel by simultaneously restoring and transforming a historic property into a 108-room hostel. ConvergenCE is to lead the complete reconstruction of the selected property in Csengery Street.