The market for flexible office space has been experiencing dynamic growth for several years. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed a lot of things about our daily lives, also in the office sector, and thus has significantly affected tenant preferences. Many tenants have made or are considering a decision to move some of their branches or even headquarters to flexible spaces. The main reasons for the growing interest in flex spaces include the possibility of enlarging or reducing the space, no long-term commitments, and no need for investment outlays, according to an analysis by experts from Mindspace, a global operator of flexible workspaces.

The office market in Bucharest and in the major regional cities of Romania - Cluj-Napoca, Timișoara, Iași and Brașov - continues to develop, with local and foreign investors having projects under construction or scheduled for delivery with an area of approximately 500,000 square meters that will be put into use in the next 16 months, according to Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.

Czech real estate developer RC Europe has opened its third retail park in Romania, following an investment of €9 million. The retail park, operating under the Nest brand, is located in Oradea, occupying approximately 6.500 sqm GLA. Construction works on the project started in October 2019.

Immofinanz started the 2020 financial year with strong operational performance, but the development of business in the second quarter was negatively influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Rental income rose by 10.4% to €145.5 million due to the expansion of the portfolio through acquisitions and completions, but a crisis-related increase in receivables write-offs led to substantially higher property expenses.

CC Trust Group AG, a family office owned by the Swiss serial entrepreneur Claudio Cisullo, and Romanian property developer One United Properties, owned by local entrepreneurs Victor Căpitanu and Andrei Diaconescu, have launched a global private equity firm in Switzerland.

Polish company Scallier is developing a new chain of retail parks in small and medium-sized Romanian cities under the Funshop Park brand. By 2022, 6 facilities with a total leasable area of ​​40,000 sqm will be completed. Work is currently underway to prepare further investments. Scallier, based in Poznań, has been operating on the Polish market for nearly a decade and specializes in investment management in the sector of small and medium-sized commercial facilities.

Panattoni has begun construction work on a new distribution building in Panattoni Park Poznań IX. Rhenus Logistics S.A. – part of the Rhenus Group – is to take up 18,000 sqm. The building will be ready for use from June next year.

Trei Real Estate GmbH increased its development volume to €960 million euros during H1 2020. This implies an increase by €60 million euros since year-end 2019 (€900 million). Compared to the prior-year figure (H1 2019: €730 million), the growth actually amounted to €230 million, which equals an increase by 31 percent year on year. A breakdown of the €960 million by type of use shows €175 million in the retail segment and €785 million in the residential segment.

CA Immo presented a solid operating result for the first half of the year, hardly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Continuous portfolio growth and the continuing high occupancy rate of the property portfolio brought a further increase in net result from rent (+10.2% on the previous year). Although the negative revaluation result reflects the current state of economic emergency, its impact on consolidated net income was significantly mitigated by other positive earnings contributions. CA Immo continued its portfolio growth in the first half of the year with the addition of two fully let Berlin office buildings (including one project completion and one portfolio acquisition) to the investment portfolio.

The coronavirus crisis has led to a significant shift in the investment strategies of institutional real estate investors. “Lower risk, lower return” is the mantra of the moment. 58% of the 150 professional investors in Germany, France and the UK surveyed by Union Investment for its investment climate study are currently pursuing such a strategy. The figure was just 35% prior to the outbreak of the pandemic. The shift is especially pronounced in the UK, where security is the main investment motive for 79% of those surveyed. Before the pandemic, it was 50%. Nonetheless, there is no general reluctance to invest. Only five% of the European investors in the survey intend to avoid all investment in real estate in the current phase.