Trei Real Estate GmbH just opened another two retail parks of its Vendo Park brand in Poland. The properties are located in Zambrów (Podlaskie Voivodeship) and in Kraków (Lesser Poland Voivodeship). The investment volume adds up to c. €16.4 million. The two retail parks have a combined lettable area of around 11,000 square meters.

After the start of the pandemic in 2020, and its surge in 2021, the past 12 months have brought renewed market activity in an attempt to offset the previous slowdown. The retail sector, construction, and the IT sector managed to avoid the recession and maintain their position as the least affected industries by the pandemic. The investment market in Bulgaria for the second half of 2022 recorded twice as high activity in terms of volume as in H1 2022, according to the Sofia City Report by JLL with the support of IPC Partners Bulgaria and Avalant. Foreign investors are less cautious to expand to unload their cash given the limited amount of opportunities.

Immofinanz Group delivered very good operating performance in 2022 in spite of the challenging environment. Sustainable FFO 1 from the standing investment business rose by 21.7%. Rental income increased by 5.4% to €300.2 million and the results of asset management by 7.2% to €226.1 million. The Group also has a very solid capital base with an equity ratio of 47.9% and conservative debt with a net LTV of 40.7%.

Passerinvest Group has appointed Eduard Forejt as its new Business Development Director. He has expanded his current position to include activities related to the development of the sales team, planning and control of business activities as well as client and partner care. As this is an expanded position, Eduard Forejt will remain responsible for the development of Passerinvest's business activities and acquisitions, the company announced. 

The Echo-Archicom Group closes the year 2022 with a strong cash position and further reduced the company's net debt. This is the result of selling seven office buildings worth nearly €320 million. In 2022, the Group generated a net profit of PLN 127 million attributable to shareholders of the parent company, which was mainly the outcome of handing over to customers 2,168 apartments for sale and rent built by Echo Investment and Archicom, as well as an increase in the value of office buildings and apartments for rent.

The composition of Croatia’s construction output is changing. While the residential segment may soon experience a slowdown, health-related construction - public and private renovations and new builds alike - is seeing a considerable boom, write Michael Glazer (SEE Regional Advisors) and Tatjana Halapija (Nada Projekt), Croatian members of the EECFA (Eastern European Construction Forecasting Association).

The average office fit-out costs in Romania rose by around 20-30% in 2022 due to a combination of supply chain pressures and higher materials’ costs, which saw companies paying an average of €820 per sqm of office space, according to real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield Echinox. 

CTP has purchased three industrial parks in three Romanian cities from FM Logistic, a French supply chain services company, for an undisclosed sum.  

Investors prefer sustainability to be measured in the case of commercial buildings too. Therefore new detailed rules will be elaborated and a so-called green passport for properties will be introduced, international law firm Baker McKenzie and CBRE reported after a special roundtable discussion in Budapest. 

More than three-quarters (76%) of Europe’s office buildings are at risk of obsolescence by the end of this decade unless landlords invest in improvements or find alternative uses for it. This is the warning from Cushman & Wakefield in its latest report.