Investors brushed aside concerns about the impact of the omicron variant to make the final quarter one of the biggest of 2021 for European property, with major markets posting near-record trading volumes, according to the latest capital markets snapshot for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) released by Colliers.

Cain International, the privately held investment firm operating in the United States and Europe, and its local development partner, White Star Real Estate, have secured a €36 million financing facility from PKO BP, for the delivery of The Park Kraków office complex.

Polish developer Scallier has secured a building permit for a new retail park with a leasable area of 9,975 sqm in Vaslui, Eastern Romania.

Prima Development Group has announced the completion of the Core Timpuri Noi residential project in Bucharest following an investment of €23 million.

Developer Alesonor has kicked off the construction of the first villas in Amber Forest suburb located near Bucharest.

CA Immo has signed and closed the sale of the R70 office building in Budapest. The sale of the property, which was completed in 2002 and comprises 19,200 sqm of gross leasable area (GLA), has closed in line with the book value as of Q2 2021. The buyer was local construction company Épkar Zrt. which used funds obtained through the National Bank of Hungary's Funding for Growth Scheme.

Avison Young has advised M7 Real Estate in the disposal of the Mokotow Plaza office building in Warsaw. The buyer is Vienna-based investor FLE GmbH, entering Warsaw office market with this purchase.

Investment transactions on the Romanian real estate market could exceed the €1 billion threshold this year, considering the projects in various stages of negotiation, according to Colliers.  At present, there are several transactions in the pipeline worth at least €100 million each, and others are ready to go on the market

Financial companies were the most active in the Bucharest office lease market during 2021, according to a report by real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.

Last year, Biuro Inwestycji Kapitałowych, supervised by Logicenters, signed lease agreements for nearly 15,000 sqm, which accounts for approx. 25% of the offered finished warehouse space. All facilities are almost fully leased. In order to extend the portfolio with new facilities, a new warehouse is currently under construction at BIK Park Wrocław, which will provide 22.5 thousand sqm of modern warehouse space. It is scheduled for completion in the third quarter of this year.