The aggregate net profit of the 30 largest commercial property developers in Poland hit an all-time high of €230 million (PLN 985 million)  in 2018, which translated into a net profit margin of 25%. The latest data from the investment transaction market and property developers’ interim financial statements indicate that 2019 can be as good a year as 2018 was for the industry in terms of profitability.

The Polish industrial market remains in very good health, with warehouse supply hitting a record high and robust occupier demand. Cushman & Wakefield summarised the third quarter of 2019 on the industrial market in Poland in its latest report.

Hungarian investors Indotek Group plans to buy the 5-star Sofitel hotel in the centre of Budapest, according to hvg.hu. The transaction still requires the approval of the Hungarian Competition Authority.

Adventum International, a Malta-based boutique investment fund manager, has acquired the 66,000 sqm GLA Köki Terminal shopping centre in Budapest for its Adventum Quartum investment fund.

Poland’s total retail stock topped 15 million sqm at the end of Q3 2019. The high shopping centre density rate in the country’s large cities has shifted developer interest towards less saturated markets of smaller cities and other retail formats such as mixed-use schemes, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s Q3 2019 retail report.

At the beginning of December, Delta Holding will launch the construction of a new office building, Delta House in Belgrade which will house the company's future headquarters, local media reports. The 23,000 sqm building will be constructed in New Belgrade, between the Crowne Plaza Hotel and Geneks Apartments, following an investment of €40 million.

Erste&Steiermärkische Bank is providing financing for the construction of GTC’s Matrix Office Park in Zagreb, a project consisting of two highly-efficient buildings, designed and constructed in line with LEED Platinum certification for green construction. Divjak, Topic & Bahtijarevic’s Banking and Finance team has closed the financing transaction for its long-standing client, GTC.

Bright Spaces, a proptech solution developed by a Romanian start-up, has received funding of €185,000 for development and implementation. The financing was coordinated by Sparking Capital as lead investor, with Growceanu Angel Investment and angel investor Ilinca Păun, former MD of Colliers International Romania.

2.5 million sqm was leased in the first three quarters of 2019 and by the end of the year, demand will most likely exceed 3 million sqm. 2019 has seen developers deliver two million sqm to market, with a total stock now stands at almost 18 million sqm. JLL summarised the situation on Poland's industrial market at the end of Q3 2019.

The Czech Republic made it to the Top 20 countries ranked by the most expensive retail street for the second time in Cushman & Wakefield’s annual Main Streets Across the World 2019 chart. It climbed to No.18 thanks to Na Příkopě, a street where the prime rental value is €235 per sqm per month. The Czech Republic is the only country in the Central and Eastern European region to make it to the Top 20 this year (it appeared in the chart last year for the first time ever), confirming its reigning position on the Central European market.