Another year in the commercial real estate market in Poland is coming to an end. Although the figures for the last 12 months are yet to be published, we can safely say that this year was definitely a good one for the Polish market. Experts from Colliers International selected 10 events that had a major impact on the shape of the real estate market in Poland.

The final group of tenants has moved in to the first phase of Advance Tower, Futureal Group’s new office building on the Váci Road office corridor in Budapest, Hungary. The building, designed to support the health and comfort of over 1,400 employees, offers a GLA of 12,000 sqm. The second phase of the development is now structurally complete with handover expected in H2 2019.

According to research conducted by JLL, the flexible office space sector in Europe has more than doubled since 2014, driven by the development of start-ups, creative industries, and small- and medium-sized companies. Furthermore, the combination of high tenant activity with the business plans of the world's largest operators means that the volume of flexible space in most European cities will have likely increased by 20-40% in 2018 alone.

According to Cushman & Wakefield, the total amount invested in commercial real estate will exceed €2.8 billion in 2018 in the Czech Republic. The market has been the most active in the fourth quarter when approximately a half of the total annual volume of investments has been transacted. Czech investors have invested almost €2 billion, accounting for 65% of investments in the Czech Republic. Of the total investment volume, 60% has been invested in Prague and the rest in the regions. The year’s biggest transaction is the sale of CTP’s three industrial parks to Deka Immobilien, a leading German investor, for €460 million.

The Imagine office complex in Łódź is entering its final phase of development. Buildings A and B feature the symbolic topping out, which means that the highest construction point has been reached. The investment carried out by Avestus Real Estate at the intersection of Piłsudskiego and Śmigłego-Rydza avenues in Łódź will be ready to receive tenants in Q3 2019.

Wrocław is the third largest state-of-the-art office market in Poland (after Warsaw and Kraków) and one of the fastest developing office locations in the country. JLL summarized the current situation on the Wrocław office market.

Marian Fridrich joins Cushman & Wakefield as Partner and Deputy Head of Slovakia. From next year, he will be responsible for the overall business development and management of the Capital Markets Group department at Cushman & Wakefield in Slovakia.

GalCap Europe, an investment and asset manager active in Austria and the CEE region, has entered Poland with the acquisition of two historic boutique office buildings in Warsaw, Wilcza 46 and Mokotowska 33/35.

Belgian developer WDP has signed a €45 million deal for the development and lease of 77,000 sqm of logistics warehouse space for the Romanian arm of French retailer Auchan.

Danish facility management company ISS plans to divest its operations in thirteen countries worldwide, including the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia and Romania.