Following a thorough revitalisation process carried out under the strict supervision of the conservator-restorer, Koneser has been restored to its former glory. The joint investment of the Liebrecht &wooD Group and BBI Development envisaged bringing the former Warsaw Vodka Distillery back to life and giving it back to Warsaw. A multifunctional lifestyle centre was established on an area spanning 5 ha in Warsaw’s Old Praga.

Land in Bucharest continued to attract the interest of real estate developers this year, considering that in the first nine months of 2018, lots with a cumulated surface of over 60 hectares on which around 8,000 dwellings, 180,000 square meters of offices as well as commercial spaces can be developed, according to an analysis of Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.

Immofinanz has successfully closed the package sale of its roughly 26% investment in CA Immobilien Anlagen AG to SOF-11 Starlight S.à r.l., a member company of the Starwood Capital Group.

Portland Trust has acquired a 16,000 sqm plot of land on Jiului street near Bucurestii Noi Boulevard. The transaction price is estimated at about €5-6 million, according to zf.ro.

Belgian entrepreneur Yves Weerts has completed the construction of the 73-meter-tall Unirii View, the tallest office building in the Romanian capital, following an investment of €33 million.

Nearly 500 guests from over 30 countries came together at CEE Property Forum 2018, co-organised by Property and RICS. Click here to see the pictures from the event.

Before 2016 nearly all transactions related to the acquisition of property in Poland were conducted in the form of asset deals. By now, share deals have become a popular alternative. Sylwia Toczyska, Director of Client Services at Vistra Poland talked to Property Forum about the current structure of transactions concluded in Poland.

Metro Properties, the real estate subsidiary of Metro AG, has sold a property in Poznań with a retail building under a long-term lease to Castorama to French investor Corum Asset Management. The purchase price amounted to €20.3 million.

Zeitgeist Asset Management has purchased an office building at ul. Solec 22 in Warsaw and intends to convert into student halls. The office building has been acquired for a German pension fund from Solec 22 z.o.o.

In the first half of 2018, the total volume of modern office space at the main regional markets (Kraków, Wrocław, Tricity, Katowice, Poznań, Łódź, Szczecin and Lublin) exceeded 4,637,000 sqm. Analysts of Cushman & Wakefield report a high absorption level caused by intensified lessee activity in 2017 and pre-rental agreements of office real estate which is to enter the market this year. As a result, despite a large spike in office space supply, the vacancy rate has gone down.