UAE business conglomerate Al Habtoor Group is set to open a regional office in the Hungarian capital of Budapest, to service its existing European operations and scout for new investment opportunities. The group, with its wide-ranging interests in the hospitality, real estate, automotive, education and vehicle leasing sectors, plans to expand its enterprise reach in new European markets.

Savills Investment Management acquired a logistics centre near Wrocław. The purchase price amounts to €32.7 million. This modern facility with a total area of 46,000 sqm. was purchased by Savills IM on behalf of Savills IM European Logistics Fund 3 (ELF 3) from Panattoni Europe.

Business confidence among Polish construction companies tumbled early this year, with the heaviest burden, as perceived by the enterprises, coming from labour costs and tax levies. Decline in confidence is chiefly due to such factors as an over 15% increase in the minimum wage and a 10% hike in social insurance contributions faced by sole traders operating in the construction industry. On top of that, large construction businesses are required to conduct Employee Capital Schemes (PPK) or the alternative solution of Employee Pensions Schemes (PPE).

Last year saw excellent results in the office sector in Poland. Demand was a record breaking 1.6 million sqm. Total stock exceeded 11 million sqm with regional markets accounting for 5.6 million sqm and outperforming Warsaw for the first time. JLL summarised the situation on the Polish office market at the end of 2019.

Occupier demand for office space in Warsaw remained robust, with 878,000 sqm transacted in 2019, up by 2% on the peak year 2018. Cushman & Wakefield presented a summary of 2019 on the Warsaw office market.

Israel-based international hotel chain Fattal Holdings has acquired hotels in Budapest and Bucharest, increasing the chain's portfolio to 225 hotels.

Adventum International, a Malta based boutique investment fund manager, has acquired the 17,500 sqm office building Katowice Business Point in the administrative capital of the Silesia voivodeship. 

Tritax Eurobox plc, which invests in Continental European logistics real estate assets, has acquired two recently developed prime logistics properties and development land, positioned in the core logistics location of Strykow, near Łódź in central Poland for €51.8 million (phase I) with the potential to invest a further €15.0 million developing the adjacent phase II land. The corporate acquisition reflects a net initial yield of 6.1% (net of acquisition costs to the company) and has the potential to add value through the letting of vacant units and development of the land.

Panattoni has launched the construction of 25,000 sqm at Panattoni Park Legnica, out of 90,000 sqm planned. The first facility will accommodate the Polish production site of global e-commerce company Spreadshirt Group. Already in August 2020, the company will be taking up in excess of 11,000 sqm of production and warehouse space at the upcoming facility. The lease was mediated by JLL.

CPI Property Group continued to purchase Globalworth shares throughout the week. Following the recently executed transactions and an acquisition announced last week, CPI Property Group now holds 29.4% of the company’s voting rights.