Czech real estate fund Investika's latest acquisition is the Royal Trakt Offices building in Warsaw. The roughly 150-year-old property in the centre of the capital city was bought by the fund from global real estate investor Patrizia SE. The acquisition was announced to Property Forum by Linklaters, the law firm that advised the real estate fund Investika during the acquisition. No further details of the transaction have been disclosed yet.

In the first two quarters of 2023, the volume of investment in the Polish real estate market was about €870 million. This result is 70% lower than the first half of 2022, when the Warsaw Hub office complex was sold for a record price. Investment in the warehouse sector accounted for more than half of the volume for H1 2023, with a total turnover of €438 million. Although this result represented a decrease of 34% compared to the first half of 2022, it was still higher than the 10-year average of €425 million, says JLL. 

Despite a supply gap and a low level of new completions (18,700 sqm in H1), there is a lot of optimism in the capital’s office market. Over 230,000 sqm is scheduled to be delivered in the next three years, which will significantly increase the amount of office space available to let. On the demand side meanwhile, we observe a relatively high occupier demand, whereby 2/3 of all agreements signed in H1 were new leases. AXI IMMO presents market data for the first half of 2023.

The floor area of newly completed office buildings in the Czech Republic fell by 20 percent last year. This year, we can expect a renewed increase, but this will be driven only by previously completed projects, with virtually no new office buildings being built this year, according to an analysis by facility management company ISS Czech Republic.

How does hyper-personalisation differ from personalisation which has ruled the retail market for years? The former leverages transactional and behavioural data and AI systems to foresee consumer needs more precisely, to reach out with a bespoke and personalised offer, and to deepen existing brand-customer relationships and build new ones. Although hyper-personalisation-based solutions in marketing strategies were initially intended for online shopping, this trend is now opening up new opportunities in multichannel retail. Cushman & Wakefield points out the growing role of such solutions for shopping centre retailers in an increasingly competitive market environment.

Prague's Arkády Pankrác shopping centre is changing hands. The Czech real estate fund Trigea is buying it from the Israeli company G City for €265 million, according to information from Trinity Bank, newstream.cz reports.

Rebounding industrial production and easing inflation are helping the Slovak economy to avoid recession. In the industrial market, it is visible robust construction growth and demand surge. The office sector is resilient but vacant subleased spaces are increasing, while the rental rates are stable amid yield increases. Nevertheless, Slovakia's retail sector is facing challenging dynamics as market limitations amplify alongside a cautious expansion trend, largely due to geopolitical and economic uncertainty, Cushman & Wakefield reports in its Marketbeat Analysis for Q2 2023.

It has been a busy year for the European Commission’s corporate accountability initiatives, including updates to the EU Sustainable Finance portfolio. These policy changes, reflecting the Commission’s focus on improving the energy performance of the EU building stock, are consequential for EU real estate investors and developers.  New sustainability-linked financing models and Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) ratings standardisation complement the European Green Deal by directing financing to real estate construction and renovation that maximises energy performance. These programs enable EU real estate investors and builders to collaboratively reduce energy use and meet the EU Climate Law’s 2030 goal of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by fifty-five percent. Strategic policy and research consultant Lisa Chase has summarised the policy framework for Property Forum.

1.2 billion sqm of space is required globally in the next decade to satisfy the growing demand for the top three ‘alternative’ property sectors, providing a major opportunity for investors, says Savills.

The mixed-use property development Liberty by Hungarian developer Wing has reached a major milestone. The office area in the south wing has received its use permit, and the first tenants have already moved in. At the same time, a sports store is now open on the ground floor.