According to the latest report by JLL, High Street Retail in Prague 2016/2017, the Czech capital is the most attractive destination for expansion of international retailers in CEE and is being considered as the gate when entering this region. Demand for quality space on Prague’s high streets, Pařížská and Na Příkopě, is outstripping supply which is reflected in the current rent rate of up to €190/sqm/month for a notional unit of 100 sqm in a prime location.

In Q3 2016, industrial space totalling 60,200 sqm was added to the Czech Republic’s industrial property market and there was 474,800 sqm of storage and industrial space under construction at the end of the quarter. The Industrial Research Forum has announced its preliminary industrial market figures for Q3 2016.

Inforsys, a business process outsourcing operator in Poland, is expanding its offer of comprehensive logistics services under a lease agreement with Panattoni Europe that will continue until July 2020. Inforsys will take up 10,000 sqm of warehouse space dedicated to e-commerce companies with an option to extend the lease by another 10,000 sqm. Inforsys will process orders in the facilities which will also be used as a second mass printing and envelope stuffing location in addition to the Radzymin operational centre. Cushman & Wakefield acted as the agent on the transaction.

Prologis has announced that it will begin construction of a 21,140 sqm speculative facility at Prologis Park Bratislava to meet high demand from customers throughout the region. The building, DC15, will be situated on a 22.6-hectare plot of land that was acquired by Prologis in the second quarter of 2016. The plot has a build-out potential of an additional 66,000 square metres. DC15, like all newly built Prologis facilities, will be submitted for BREEAM accreditation.  

Hungarian retail sales and turnover continue to show healthy growth, buoyed by the abolition of the Sunday closing law after barely one year in effect. Retailer demand is unbroken but remains pressed by the lack of available supply resulting in upward pressure on rents. Fashion retailers remained the most active in H1 2016, followed by the footwear and F&B segments which both expanded significantly, according to the latest Retail Market View published by CBRE.

The owner of East-West Business Center, which is the oldest modern office building of Budapest, has decided to start refurbishment of their landmark property.

Emerging Europe Properties Fund and Discovery Group have sold Nakupní Park Centro Ostrava to Focus Estate Fund. The subject of the sale is a fully leased retail park in Ostrava. Operating since 2011, it offers 7,700 sqm of retail space. Long-term tenants include Mountfield, JYSK, Okay Electric, Breno, Jitona, Kasa, Super Zoo, and Rossmann.

TriGranit has completed the sale of two assets. Millennium Towers, an office complex in Budapest, has been sold to CA Immo for €175 million and Bonarka City Center, a shopping mall in Krakow has been purchased by Rockcastle. The developer will remain the property manager of both assets.

The Polish property market has long been the region’s frontrunner and it seems like that nothing can slow it down. In spite of all the fears of last year related to political instability and the Warsaw office market getting potentially overheated, investment volumes are up significantly and development activity is stronger than ever. Piotr Mirowski, Director of CEE Investment Services at Colliers International Poland talked to us about the country’s investment market. 

Deka Immobilien GmbH has secured the building complex “The Park” in Prague under a purchase agreement with a controlled affiliate of global private investment firm Starwood Capital Group. Under the terms of the transaction—which were not disclosed—the office park will be transferred to the new institutional fund Deka-Immobilien Fokus Prag (DIFP). The fund will be launched when the sale is closed, which is expected to take place at the end of October.