The first Ibis Styles hotel will open on the Romanian seaside this summer following a franchise agreement signed by Accor and Paradis Hotels & Resort, a company owned by Romanian entrepreneur Aurelian Marin.

AFI Europe has appointed Luciana Giurea as the new Head of the Residential Division, tasked with overseeing all residential real estate projects – for rent or sale – in Romania. She will also drive the development of the division within the company.

Local retail chain operator La Cocoș has opened its fourth hypermarket in Brașov. The company has leased 10,000 sqm for the new unit in the Brintex complex, in a deal brokered by Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.

Falling interest rates and higher incomes of Romanians coupled with increasing attractiveness of residential renting will drive the home affordability index, according to research by the Eastern European Construction Forecasting Association (EECFA).

John Palmer, Partner Associate, Real Estate Advisory at Deloitte Poland, talked to Property Forum about the rapidly changing landscape of the land development market in Poland and its current attractiveness to foreign investors.

Mendota Invest, OTP Group's subsidiary has received a final building permit for a mixed-use complex at the heart of the Slovenian capital. Construction work will begin in March. The estimated value of the entire investment is more than €350 million. The entire project is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.

Real estate advisory firm Avison Young announced the promotion of Michał Ćwikliński as Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) Regional Managing Director, effective immediately. In this newly created role, Ćwikliński will work closely with Avison Young’s Country Management teams to oversee and assist business development, sales management, and strategic initiatives across the EMEA region.

The Polish shopping centre market is now considered mature as many retail malls were built in the 1990s and 2000s, that is before the technological boom in energy efficiency and during a period of significantly lower awareness of the issue. A wave of upgrades is coming, but they will not happen overnight due to high levels of refurbishment expenditure required. In the face of rising challenges of energy and heat consumption, experts from Cushman & Wakefield managing a large and highly diverse portfolio of shopping centres and retail parks provide valuable insight into the results of their frequently innovative and low-cost measures.

The country's largest distribution facility was opened in 2022 and offers 143,000 sqm of industrial space on the outskirts of Budapest.

CTP has signed three key ten-year leases in its most sustainable industrial park near Prague, comprising more than 60% of a new 32,000 sqm building that will be delivered by the end of Q2 2024 at CTPark Prague North.