While the future of the office industry was unpredictable in the early days of the pandemic, companies are doubling down on their investments in strategic office locations and preparing for a future in which hybrid work could become mainstream. Large employers still see the office as a central pillar of work arrangements and have made strategic acquisitions in the recent period.

In January, the NREP team expanded to include the Head of the Living Investments Department. Maciej Piotrowicz will be in charge of investments and the development of projects in this segment in Poland. By the end of the year, 10 people will be part of his team

The Czech patent and pins factory owned by Koh-i-Noor Waldes is moving out of Prague after 120 years. Due to the merge with Massag factory the company is heading to Bílovec now. The current owner Pražská správa nemovitostí (PSN) plans to transform the historical factory buildings in the Prague Vršovice complex into a multifunctional project with 550 modern apartments and shops, e15.cz reports.

A long-vacant iconic building on Almássy Square in District 7 of Budapest, which previously housed a leisure centre, will be transformed into a 135-room hotel, Építészfórum reports.

Savills Investment Management, the international real estate investment manager, transacted more than €3.4 billion globally in 2021, including c. €2.6 billion in Europe and c. €670 million in Asia. Globally, transactions included around €2.1 billion of acquisitions and around €1.2 billion of disposals, resulting in a net investment of c. €900 million. The firm now manages approximately €24.8 billion in assets under management (AuM) as of September 2021

CTP has completed the takeover and delisting offer for Deutsche Industrie REIT-AG (DIR), which provides immediate scale in Europe’s largest economy. Germany now represents about 15% of CTP’s portfolio and becomes its third-largest market by gross asset value after the Czech Republic (42%) and Romania (21%).

Romanian Vox Property Group has secured a loan of €10.5 million from CEC Bank that will be used for the completion of Vox Vertical Village luxury residential project in Timișoara. 

The Q4 2021 results of the RICS Global Commercial Property Monitor indicate a continued improvement in market sentiment across Europe compared to the previous quarters, with progress particularly evident on the investment side of the market. That said, conditions remain polarised at the sector level, with the latest feedback still signalling a challenging set of circumstances for retail while industrials continue to post robust expectations for the twelve months ahead.

AFI Europe has taken stock of the results for 2021, a year in which it has been fully committed to implementing its new corporate strategy focused exclusively on rental housing. The company is currently constructing four buildings in three residential projects in Prague. It plans to complete the larger part of them this year.

Due to COVID restrictions, hotel occupancy in Prague dropped down into the last positions among 35 metropolises in Europe. Nevertheless, for hotel operators, Prague is still the most attractive city in the CEE region. According to top market players, the sector should recover by 2024, says the latest Cushman & Wakefield report.