JLL announced the appointment of Andrew Peirson as Managing Director of its Czech Republic business effective January 1st, 2021. Based in Prague, Peirson will lead the senior management team, supporting and growing the various business lines in leasing, sales, investments, consulting and strategic advisory. As part of the CEE leadership team, he will help navigate the evolving business environment in this prospering and rapidly growing region and continue delivering exceptional value to our clients.

CBRE launches a range of omnichannel services in Romania, for retailers who want a quick adjustment to the new market context by expanding industrial spaces. Omnichannel services have already been present for three years in the global CBRE network, mostly in the United States and the United Kingdom, and the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the synergy between retail and industrial worldwide.

Garbe Industrial Real Estate GmbH has acquired as part of its European expansion strategy into the CEE market, a first class development opportunity in Chomutov, The 65,000 sqm land plot is directly located on highway exit D7. Demolition of the current properties will begin by the end of this year and construction of the new, 32,000 sqm state of the art logistics real estate facilities is scheduled to begin in summer 2021. 

Mid Europa Partners, a private equity investor in Central and Eastern Europe, announced an agreement to sell 24% of the issued share capital in Waberer's International Nyrt. to Trevelin Holding Zrt. (member of Indotek Group). It also granted a call option to Indotek over Mid Europa's remaining 47.99% of the issued share capital. The transaction is subject to customary anti-trust clearance and is expected to close by the end of the first quarter 2021.

Market Építő Zrt. has completed the construction of a new parcel distribution centre in Budapest for DPD Hungária Kft. The facility has doubled the logistics company’s domestic sorting capacity.

Total demand on the Budapest industrial/logistics market amounted to 460,000 sqm in Q1-Q3 2020. The vacancy rate at the end of Q3 2020 stood at 2.3% following a 0.21 pps decline y-o-y. The Budapest Research Forum published its quarterly industrial/logistics market analysis

The share of internet sales has returned to near pre-pandemic levels. At the same time, Polish customers are more willing than before to turn to convenience shopping in smaller retail formats. JLL summarised conditions on Poland's retail market at the end of Q3 2020.

The sixth and last building of the Váci Greens office complex in Budapest, the 23,445 sqm Building “E”, has received the final occupancy permit. With this, Atenor’s flagship project in Budapest is completed.

Reuters reports that Magyar Telekom (Deutsche Telekom’s Hungarian unit), which moved into its newly constructed Budapest HQ in Q3 2018 and signed a 15-year lease agreement for 58,000 sqm, is considering subletting some of its office space.

It’s at last becoming possible to assess the consequences for Croatia’s construction sector of the country’s July 2020 elections. Jockeying for governmental positions, COVID-19- and tourism-season-related priorities and other pressing matters prevented the new Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) led government from moving on its larger agenda until recently. Now, though, the political picture, and the impact of the elections on Croatia’s construction sector, is getting clearer, according to a report by the Eastern European Construction Forecasting Association.