Investors and bankers are interested in closing deals in the Romanian commercial property sector and we might see more projects with bigger discounts next year, concluded speakers of the transactions panel of SEE Property Forum 2023, held in Bucharest recently.

Slovakia’s economy surpassed expectations in H1 2023 with the automotive industry leading the charge. The industrial sector flourishes with robust take-up and diversified supply and there is also a continuous rise in rents in all submarkets. Resilient take-up but robust new supply caused rising vacancy, stabilized fit-out costs, rising rents and yields. Cushman & Wakefield published its Marketbeat Analysis for Q3 2023. 

The investment group Penta, which is developing the area around the Masaryk railway station in Prague, wants to buy ČSAD Praha Holding through Penta Real Estate. The company owns the Florenc bus station and the surrounding land. The merger is being assessed by the Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS) in a so-called simplified procedure, and a decision will be issued within 20 days. The companies have not disclosed the price of the transaction. Penta also completed work on two nearby buildings called Masaryčka on Monday. The group's long-term intention is to unify the entire area by ownership, writes the daily e15.cz.

From January to the end of September 2023, the total demand for modern office space in Warsaw amounted to nearly 0.5 million sqm. Tenants often choose two contract options, i.e., they relocate to a new space or decide to renegotiate existing terms. The vacancy rate is decreasing, standing at 10.6% at the end of September 2023. On the supply side, developers delivered just over 20,000 sqm to the capital's office market in January-September 2023, indicating a supply gap period in Warsaw. Nevertheless, more than 240,000 sqm is under construction, most of which will be completed by the end of 2025, says Axi Immo. 

Hagag Development Europe has kicked off the construction works for the consolidation and repurposing of Știrbei Palace on Calea Victoriei. The building will be transformed into H Știrbei Palace, the company's first retail project in Bucharest.

Romanian developer Akcent Development has started the construction of the Akcent City project, consisting of 723 apartments, in northern Bucharest. The company is investing around €90 million in the project expected for delivery in H2 2025.

A real estate bond sale in Slovenia worth €9.5 million was announced by Slovak property developer Corwin and Czech investment company Hartenberg operating in CEE.

Arkadiusz Rudzki, Executive Vice President, Leasing & Sales for Skanska’s commercial development business unit in CEE, talked to Property Forum about the duration of the supply gap in the Warsaw office market, the current interests of investment funds and Skanska’s Scandinavian approach to implementing the ESG principles.

According to the newest report by Newmark Polska, in the third quarter of 2023, office take-up in Poland’s regional city office markets reached nearly 200,000 sqm, while the development pipeline was below 400,000 sqm. High vacancy rates in existing office buildings mean that tenants have a wide choice of options. Both developers and tenants remain focused on ESG, functionality, flexibility and optimisation of office usage and lease costs.

GLP has started construction of a new warehouse in Niepołomice near Kraków. The sole tenant of GLP Kraków III Logistics Centre will be MCG EastBridge, a new brand from the Maszoński Logistic portfolio, marking the largest lease transaction in terms of square footage on the Polish warehouse market in H1 2023.