Institutional investors have acquired Echo Investment's bonds with a total value of PLN 195 million. The obtained funds will be allocated to the company's development, particularly in the promising residential sector.

Over 80% of the new retail space expected to be completed in 2021 will be in the form of retail parks, including smaller strip malls, highlighting a market shift towards proximity-based schemes or those with a smaller financial footprint for the developer, according to Colliers International Romania. 

Hungary-based residential developer Cordia International Zrt. continues its international expansion strategy. After acquiring UK developer Blackswan last year, the company has announced the acquisition of a new office space in the heart of the Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham, England, which will become Cordia Blackswan’s UK headquarter. The property developer is set to refurbish and move into a former branch of Lloyds bank. The historical building will not only be home to Cordia Blackswan, but it will also offer modern office and co-working spaces.

The construction of a new building in the BudaPart mixed-use project in Budapest has started. As Mihály Schrancz, Managing Director of developer Property Market Kft., said earlier in an interview with Portfolio in December, the company has signed an agreement with the Radisson chain for a mixed-use development comprising a four-star hotel and office space. The Radisson Hotel Budapest BudaPart, to be built as part of the BudaPart Downtown project, will be operated by the Radisson Hotel Group international chain.

Despite the difficulties caused by COVID-19, the year 2020 was a turning point, in a positive sense, for most Czech Proptech companies. as the pandemic situation created strong pressure to automate and digitize processes using modern technologies. These technologies include machine reading, artificial intelligence or the Internet of Things. Many companies have expanded to foreign markets, where Czech solutions for residential and commercial development are receiving positive responses. The Czech-Slovak Association of PropTech Companies has received feedback from 5 progressive companies.

The Austrian Takeover Commission notified Immofinanz that a review procedure is being initiated with respect to Immofinanz as the target company.

Slovak company KLM CHG intends to build a new retail park near Chorvátsky Grob in the Bratislava Region with three separate buildings, following an investment of about €6.5 million.

Czech real estate consultancy 108 Agency has published the first edition of an original project that provides an overall summary of the Czech industrial real estate market from the perspective of individual development companies and owners.

Hungarian residential developer Cordia plans to hand over a record number of homes this year in Hungary. Thanks to an expanded government family support scheme and the re-introduction of a 5% VAT rate on residential property, the company expects sustained strong demand and will therefore increase its offer by more than 800 new homes as part of several developments. Work is continuing uninterrupted while protective measures are observed, with full online customer service introduced last year.

Passerinvest Group has sold the Nová Karolina Park office building in the centre of Ostrava. The new owner is locally based investment group RT TORAX Group.