New furniture. Everything is neatly organized. Everything is in its place. And it is extremely tidy. New offices tend to look as if they are images in a catalogue or a photorealistic visualisation delivered by an architect – but this only lasts for a short while. It takes no more than a few weeks for slow, yet inevitable changes to begin creeping into a new office. As the lease term passes, the office acquires a life of its own: it is an organism straining to adapt to the dynamic movements of people, things and activities that fill it and shape the space.

Positive sentiment amongst tenants, developers and investors are reflected in the spectacular demand for office space and reduced vacancy rates in Warsaw. The growing presence of co-working companies is another sign of an expanding market. JLL summarised the situation on the Warsaw office market at the end of Q3 2018.

MLP Group has begun the construction of a warehousing facility in its logistics centre in Czeladź. The construction of the facility with an area of nearly 10,000 square meters is scheduled for completion in Q2 2019.

VD Invest, subsidiary of Vantage Development, has signed a preliminary conditional agreement with IKI Poland, subsidiary of M7 Czech Republic group, for the sale of Wroclaw office building Delta 44. GVA Polska represented the seller in the transaction.

Atrium Polska opened the extension of its Atrium Targówek shopping centre in Warsaw. On 25 October, a new fashion alley was opened with 32 shops, introducing 27 new brands to the shopping centre. The food court area has also received a new upgraded look. Following the remodelling, 8,600 sqm of new leasable area was added to bring the total GLA to 60,600 sqm.

pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank provided a credit facility of €27 million to companies managed by GLL Real Estate Partners on behalf of a German institutional investor. The loan is used for the refinancing of Griffin House and Liberty Corner, two prime office buildings in Warsaw. pbb acted as arranger and sole lender under the facility.

RICS is considered the world’s preeminent qualification and standard-setting body for land, property and construction, with more than 125,000 members practicing in more than 146 countries over the world. Employing RICS professionals offers companies a label of excellence and trust, as they follow the highest standards and best practices in the real estate business. CBRE Hungary employs 14 RICS accredited personnel specialising in different areas.

Rents remained stable on the Budapest commercial property market in H1 2018, according to the last survey of the National Bank of Hungary (MNB) and RICS. The typical yield level decreased by roughly 25 basis points to 6% for prime offices and 7.5% for industrial/logistics properties. Respondents anticipate an increase in demand for investments in most market segments for H2 2018, particularly in the case of prime office and industrial/logistics properties.

Forte Partners plans to invest €25 million in the development of a new office building in the centre of Bucharest. The property will offer 8,400 sqm of leasable space.

Praga Studios, the new Karlín office building by Skanska, has progressed significantly on its way to completion. In October 2018, the builders placed a topping out flag on the site of the future roof terrace to symbolise the completion of the superstructure. The building, with a total area of almost 12 000 sqm, will be completed in Q2 2019.