Immofinanz refinanced approximately €1.6 billion of financial liabilities during the 2017 financial year. This volume represents roughly 60% of the group’s financial liabilities as of 30 September 2017 and covers extensions as well as new borrowings. The transactions will reduce future interest expense by roughly €18.3 million per year.

Panattoni Europe is building Panattoni Park Zielona Góra – a modern multi-tenant distribution centre, planned for 75,000 sqm. At present, nearly 50,000 sqm, in three buildings, are under development. The space has been leased by both manufacturing companies and logistics businesses, which will be able to move into the park in early 2018.

AFI Europe Romania has signed a financing agreement for €22 million with Bank Leumi Romania for the development of phase 1 of AFI Tech Park, the newest business park the company is currently developing in Bucharest.

Cityland, a Bucharest-based residential real estate agency, will start selling apartments in bitcoin in response to the growing popularity of the virtual currency, profit.ro reports.

Patrizia Immobilien AG has acquired Rockspring Property Investment Managers LLP, providing it with a London-based fund management hub with a focus on discretionary capital for global clients. The acquisition further strengthens Patrizia’s global investor base and expands the Group’s network of pan-European offices, resources and capabilities.

Globalworth announced that is has acquired a 67.90% of the issued share capital of Griffin Premium Real Estate, a Dutch entity listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

Representatives of the BMW Group, the Czech government and the Karlovy Vary region announced construction of a new proving ground. The roughly 500-hectare property will be developed in Sokolov in the Karlovy Vary region, close to the German border town of Waldsassen and about two-and-a-half hours’ drive from the BMW Group’s main development site, the Research and Development Centre (FIZ), in Munich. The new BMW Group proving ground, which will create several hundred jobs, is slated to go into operation early in the next decade. Total investment will be in the three-digit million-euro range.

Real estate developer Zacaria signed one of the largest rental contracts in 2017 for an industrial space in Sibiu, with the German company Kuka Systems, which will expand its activity in Romania. The new Kuka production space is a built-to-suit project, covering more than 10,000 sqm.

Union Investment has expanded its Polish shopping centre portfolio by making its first investment of this kind in Wrocław. The latest addition to open-ended real estate fund Unilmmo: Europa is Magnolia Park, which comprises some 100,000 sqm of retail space. Sold to Union Investment by Blackstone for around €380 million, the shopping centre is almost fully let, with leases having an average of 4.2 years to run. The shopping centre will continue to be managed by Multi after the sale. Cushman & Wakefield advised Union Investment on the transaction.

A Slovak private equity group has disposed of a 6,800 sqm hypermarket in Liptovský Mikuláš with an exceptionally long lease with Tesco to a Czech private investor, Cushman & Wakefield announced on Twitter.