Wrocław’s office market continues its upward momentum. Office take-up hit 132,100 sqm in the first three quarters of 2017, representing a 70% rise on the same period of 2016, says tenant-only real estate advisory firm Cresa in its latest report.

Skanska plans to launch the construction of one new office building per year in Budapest. The construction of Mill Park is currently underway and works on the third phase of Nordic Light are to be launched in January 2018.

Strong economic growth, booming tourism and increasing construction activity characterise one of the least well-known markets of the CEE/SEE region. Total office stock in the capital barely exceeds 100,000 sqm, which results in one of the highest rental fees in the region. The situation is, however, about to change as new mixed-use projects of higher quality should increase the pressure on landlords. Stela Dhami, Managing Partner at Colliers International shared us her positive outlook on the Albanian market.

GTC Serbia announced that it has managed to secure lease agreements with several new brands for its latest Belgrade development, Ada Mall. The opening of the 34,000 sqm mall is scheduled for autumn 2018.

Ikea has started the construction of its second store in Romania, which will be finished in H2 2018 following an investment of approximately €86 million, which includes the acquisition of the land.

Arcona Property Fund, listed on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, announced the successful closing of the sale last week of one of the properties in its Prague portfolio. The buyer of the functionalist administrative building on Drahobejlova Street in Prague 9 is the Czech Medical Chamber (ČLK), which has long been looking for a new building for its Prague representative office.

Globalworth confirmed that is plans to raise approximately €300 million through a non‐pre-emptive placing of new ordinary shares. The funds would be used for new purchases in Poland (two office buildings) and Romania (three office building) with a total value of €410 million. The company also published its latest development plans.

The first phase of Futureal’s Corvin 5 office complex is the first building in Hungary and the second in Europe to receive the international WELL Building Platinum pre-certification. The office building valued at €90 million and equipped with the latest environmentally friendly technologies is expected to be handed over by the end of 2018 in Budapest. Corvin 5 has been designed to make a positive impact on employees’ health and well-being.

Real estate developer London Partners is to invest €26 million in SoHo Unirii residential project in Central Bucharest, which will have a total of 236 apartments. Construction works started this summer and completion is scheduled for Q1 2019.

Immofinanz posted a significant increase in net profit from continuing operations (excl. Russia) for the first three quarters of 2017, to €116.3 million (Q1-Q3 2016: €-217.8 million). Rental income remained stable at €174.1 million despite the ongoing sale of non-strategic properties (Q1-Q3 2016: €174.0 million). Adjusted for new acquisitions, completions and sales (like-for-like), rental income rose significantly, by 3.9% to €138.4 million. The results from Asset Management grew 11.3% to €122.6 million; financial results moved strongly into positive territory at €88.6 million (Q1-Q3 2016: €-143.9 million). This was primarily a result of positive valuation effects from the CA Immo and BUWOG shareholdings, and lower financing costs. Overall, net profit (incl. Russia) improved to €-59.1 million (Q1-Q3 2016: €-409.5 million).