Business Link and Skanska will co-create an innovative ecosystem for start-up companies, small and medium enterprises, and companies from the business services sector in CEE. The developer has invested in Business Link – the largest network of co-working space and private offices in Poland. Because of Business Link’s planned international expansion, the company will become one of the biggest networks of its kind in the world. 

Smart buildings and smart infrastructure are essential parts of a liveable, sustainable, future-proof and truly smart city, something that population centres all over the world aspire to be. Things have started going in the right direction but the Hungarian capital still has a long way to go before it can establish itself as a smart city. The vision of Budapest as smart city, officially approved by the City Council, was presented at the latest Green Talk, organised by RICS and the Hungary Green Building Council (HuGBC).

Colliers International has extended the management contract with Triuva Kapitalverwaltungsgesellschaft mbH for another 2 years. Colliers will continue to manage the portfolio of 11 office properties with a total area of approximately 75,000 sqm. All buildings are located in Warsaw.

CTP signed several new leases in Hungary in the first quarter of 2017 which means that construction is now underway in four different locations in the Transdanubia region. The real estate developer, present in Hungary since early 2016, now manages an industrial property portfolio of about 300,000 sqm. 

Berlin-based developer Bischoff & Compagnons is to start a new office development, named Alphagon, in the South Buda area of Budapest. CBRE has been commissioned with the leasing of the property.

The office market in Warsaw maintains momentum with demand for office space reaching 194,000 sqm in Q1 2017. JLL summarized Q1 2017 on the office market in Warsaw.

Net take-up on the Czech industrial market in Q1 2017 totalled 238,800 sqm, representing a yearly increase of 13%. The vacancy rate reached 4.7%, having decreased marginally by 4 bps since Q4 2016. The Industrial Research Forum announced the final Industrial Market figures for Q1 2017. 

Prologis announced the completion of a 42,170 square metre build-to-suit (BTS) facility for long-term customer Agata at Prologis Park Piotrków II. 

Swissôtel, part of AccorHotels, has entered into a franchise agreement with Al Shiddi International for the development of a new 218-room urban resort scheduled to open in early 2018. Situated next to Bosnian Parliament, within the mixed-use Sarajevo City Center project, consisting of shopping mall and office tower, Swissôtel Sarajevo will be located in the Bosnian capital’s centre.

MAS Real Estate, a commercial property investor, developer and operator listed in both Johannesburg and Luxembourg, announced the acquisition of two shopping malls in Bulgaria, for €62 million. The malls have been acquired from Globe Trade Centre and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The Galleria Burgas Mall and the Galleria Stara Zagora Mall and are located in the Bulgarian cities of Burgas and Stara Zagora, respectively.