Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, warehouse take-up hit a record high of 1.6 million sqm, reveals an industrial market summary for Q1 2021 released by global real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield. The strongest leasing activity was reported in Poznań, the Warsaw area, Upper Silesia and Central Poland.

According to Colliers, CEE 2021 year-end investment volumes are likely to reach similar levels to 2020. CEE economies are expected  to accelerate  throughout 2021 and 2022, at an average pace of ca. 4.3% annually

MidPoint71, an office building developed by Echo Investment in Wrocław, will become the new head office of the Business Service Centre of 3M. The tenant will move into the new location in the first quarter of 2022.

Romania recorded new real estate investments worth €85 million in the first quarter of 2021, down 42% year-on-year, in line with the lower results of other markets in Central and Eastern Europe, according to a report by Colliers. 

Romania’s Vox Property Group says it secured €19.5 million in funding from CEC Bank that will be used to refinance other loans and to support ongoing projects in the country. 

Arcadis has published the annual results of the International Comparison of Construction Costs which demonstrates that the building industry has shown its resistance worldwide during the pandemic. Many governments took advantage of fiscal stimuli to support their economies, which has reflected an increase in infrastructure investment of the public sector. Within CEE, Vienna (#30) has by far the highest construction costs, followed by Zagreb (#64), Bucharest (#65), Sofia (#66), Prague (#66), Warsaw (#70), Belgrade (#72) and Krakow (#75).

Agricultural products maker Corteva has pre-leased around 23,000 sqm of industrial space in a built-to-suit warehouse located in northeastern Bucharest. 

Knauf Industries Polska, the world’s leading polystyrene processor, has renegotiated its lease agreement and increased its warehouse and office space in Panattoni Park Wrocław II to 18,000 sqm. The tenant was represented during the negotiation process by real estate advisory firm Cresa.

Crussis Electrobikes, a Czech manufacturer of e-bikes and tricycles has signed a long-term lease for 21,000 sqm in Prologis Park Prague-Úžice. The company will occupy space in building 4B of the park. Real estate agent Marek Sýkora facilitated this transaction.

In the 11 shopping streets under the umbrella of the Shopping Street Management (BUM), some 90% of businesses survived the coronavirus pandemic, and the number of stores for sale or rent is decreasing in more and more places, BUM told Hungarian news wire MTI based on its survey carried out at the beginning of May.