Total demand on the Budapest industrial market amounted to 211,250 sqm in Q4 2017, marking a 58% year-on-year increase. The vacancy rate dropped to a new record low of 4%. The Budapest Research Forum published its quarterly industrial market analysis.

Laurentiu Lazar, Senior Partner, Investment and Valuation Services, will take over as the new Managing Partner of Colliers International Romania, effective as of March. Ilinca Paun, the current Managing Partner, will remain Member of the Board and will focus on her activity at Entrepreneurship Academy, where she will operate as CEO.

Total demand on the Budapest office market in Q4 2017 reached 144,365 sqm, representing a 13% decrease year-on-year. The office vacancy rate has decreased to 7.5%, the lowest rate on record. The Budapest Research Forum published its latest figures.

In 2017 the Bucharest office market has posted results close to the 2016 record ones, taking into consideration transactions in Class A and B buildings. 2018 is expected to bring growth and new demand from players that are going to enter the market, but also of the existent ones who will extend or relocate. The annual Knight Frank report – European Commercial Property Outlook – estimates that European commercial property markets enter 2018 with positive momentum.

The Iulius Company has commenced the works for the retail component included in the Openville Timişoara project, the largest mixed-use development in the west of Romania. The first phase of the project integrating the current Iulius Mall Timişoara is set for completion in Q4 2018 and will include 47,000 sqm of additional retail premises, 100,000 sqm of Class A offices, a park, a traffic underpass, as well as more than 1,500 new parking places.

Skanska’s commercial development business unit in Central Eastern Europe will be the first developer worldwide to cover office buildings with semi-transparent perovskite solar cells on a commercial scale. Saule Technologies will be the technology provider. The initial implementation tests are planned for 2018 in Poland.

pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank provided an investment facility of €41.4 million to companies owned by a professional private real estate investor and managed by development and investment company Amesbury s.r.o. The funds will be used to refinance the Zlicin and Chrastany business parks near Prague. Thereby pbb extended the maturity of its financing by another five years. The transaction closed in December 2017.

Colliers REMS Hungary has been assigned by Skanska for the role of property manager for Mill Park Offices, from 2018. Mill Park is Skanska’s latest office project in Budapest, consisting of two buildings, Mill Park A and Mill Park B, with a total GLA of 36,000 sqm, divided over 7 floors and 538 parking places. Building B will be delivered in Q2 2018, while building A in Q3 2018.

The Rezidor Hotel Group announced the signing of the Radisson Blu Hotel Timisoara. This takes the group's portfolio in Romania to four hotels. Radisson Blu and Mulberry Development will create an international upper upscale hotel in Timisoara, the main social, economic and cultural hub in Western Romania - and the European Capital of Culture for 2021.

PRO-LOG has decided to extend the lease of 15,000 square meters of warehouse space in the MLP Pruszków I park. At the same time PRO-LOG decided to increase its warehouse space by additional 5,000 square meters to 20,000 square meters in total. All the facilities will be equipped with state-of-the-art LED lighting.