The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) and Postbank (Bulgaria) will jointly provide €58.3 million (€32 million and €26.3 million, respectively) to help finance the construction of a Marriott hotel in Sofia, the first hotel of the international chain in Bulgaria. The 12-year loan will be extended to I Tower Development JSC, a special-purpose company set-up in Bulgaria. BSTDB acted as arranger of the deal. The operation aims at meeting the growing demand for high-quality business and tourist accommodation and conference facilities in the Bulgarian capital.

As a result of large portfolio transactions, the first quarter of 2018 on the Polish real estate investment market closed with a record investment volume of ca. €2.05 billion, according to Savills. Taking into account the number and volume of ongoing transactions, we may expect another very good year on the investment market.

CTP will deliver another logistics park in Cluj county by the end of this year. The 30,000 sqm CTPark Cluj II will be completed in three phases.

CTP is developing a 20,000 square meter warehouse for home appliances manufacturer Arctic in Cateasca, near Pitesti.

Companies have rented almost 70,000 square meters of office space in Bucharest in Q1 2018, according to JLL. One-third of the demand came from companies that formerly had their headquarters in old, small buildings or in other different from modern buildings (non-competitive stock). This segment of demand increased compared to last year when it accounted for only 7% of the total take-up.

After the recent start of construction works at LiNK Hradec Králové Linkcity has announced the launch of another project. The developer has received a planning permit for a logistics park in the industrial zone Nitra – Lužianky, located near the R1 motorway in Slovakia.

A new report by Colliers International and international law firm CMS has found that one-third of professionals in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) believe their workplace will change over the next 2-3 years. The firms’ second annual report, ‘CEE Office Real Estate Compass: Is your workplace Millennial-ready’, looks at the changing nature of the workplace in CEE and includes a survey of 72 CEE-based professionals drawn from the spectrum of geography and seniority.

Polish developer 7R plans to set up a network of small business unit (SBU) warehouses across Poland under the 7R City Flex brand. Tenants will be able to sign one joint contract for the lease of warehouse space in several different locations as part of the City Flex program.

Futureal Group has started the construction of the second phase of its Advance Tower office building located at the Váci office corridor in Budapest, Hungary. The expansion of the office complex will offer an additional 8,000 square meters of GLA. Advance Tower’s second phase receiving the international WELL Building Platinum Precertification is expected to be handed over in the second half of 2019.

Growthpoint Properties, a South African REIT, has agreed to subscribe for shares in Griffin Premium RE (GPRE). The company is to invest between €120 million and €150 million.