New research from Cushman & Wakefield has revealed European retail park floorspace increased by 2.2% in 2018, reaching a total of 50.1 million sqm, with France and Spain leading the way in terms of new schemes. The report states that 995,000 sqm of new retail park space was completed in Europe last year, down 15% on 2017. A stable development trend is expected going forward, with 1.4 million sqm of new retail park space scheduled for opening in 2019/2020. Nevertheless, quick and easy construction and a growing number of schemes below 5,000 sqm are expected to boost the number of openings.

Immofinanz is acquiring the Warsaw Spire Tower Building in the Polish capital through the purchase of the respective property holding companies. This roughly 220 metre-high office tower has approximately 71,600 sqm of rentable space, with roughly 65,000 sqm representing offices and the remainder used primarily for retail purposes. The agreed property value for the office tower amounts to approximately €386.0 million. The expected annual rental income based on invoiced rents totals roughly €19.6 million. The sellers are Ghelamco Group, which completed the tower in 2016, and Madison International Realty, a global Real Estate Private Equity Firm.

Irish fashion retailer Primark opened its first store in Slovenia at Citypark in Ljubljana. The mall was completely renovated around the popular anchor tenant by Citypark operator SES Spar European Shopping Centers, following a refurbishment investment of €20 million.

Golub GetHouse’s new real estate brand, Inspirentals, will be the vehicle for development projects in the Private Rented Sector offering a range of amenities available to all residents that are rare on the Polish market. The Warsaw-based Postępu Apartments (working name) and Liberty Tower projects, among others, will be completed under the new Inspirentals brand.

CBRE has expanded its team with the first humanoid robot available in a real estate company in Romania, PepperEscu. By doing so since May, CBRE aims to use the robot's technological abilities to create synergy between people as end-users of the properties, from office workers to visitors to shopping centres.

On the 30th of August 2019, Iulius and Atterbury Europe will open the first phase of the Iulius Town Timişoara project (formerly known as Openville), the largest real estate investment in the region, adding up to more than €220 million. This is the first mixed-use development in the west of Romania.

Valesco Group, a London headquartered European real estate investment manager, along with AIP Asset Management, a Seoul headquartered asset manager, have exchanged contracts to acquire Twin City Tower office building in Bratislava, backed by South Korean institutional capital, for €120 million, making this one of HB Reavis’ largest transactions on the Slovak office market. The purchase price reflects an acquisition yield of 5.75%. The transaction represents the first South Korean investment in the Slovak real estate market.

The advance of diversity and solidification of the retail market is creating attractive conditions for the expansion of global brands, according to the experts of JLL Poland. One such example is the decision made by Urban Outfitters to enter the Polish market.

International law firm Noerr, together with Vienna-based Austrian law office Arnold, have advised Signa Retail on the sale of Kika’s Eastern European business to XXXLutz. The parties signed the contracts on the sale of the 22 locations in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia on April 26, 2019. The transaction has included both the operational retail business with over 1,500 employees and the 22 properties.

Colliers has appointed Melinda Kovacs as new Head of Landlord Office Agency for Hungary in Budapest.