Immofinanz AG has announced a change in the preliminary timetable for the intended merger with CA Immobilien Anlagen AG. The reason is the planned divestment of Immofinanz’s Russian property portfolio, which is a condition for the merger of the two companies. The Executive Board and Supervisory Board of Immofinanz today decided to schedule a longer period than originally considered for the process to separate the Russian properties. The recent stabilisation of the economy in Russia has contributed to this decision. 

NEPI and Rockcastle have announced that the two companies will effectively be merged in a new entity, NEPI Rockcastle, to be implemented with reference to an effective share swap ratio of 4.5 existing Rockcastle shares for every 1 existing NEPI share. Alexandru Morar and Spiro Noussis, the current chief executive officers of NEPI and Rockcastle, respectively, will be appointed joint chief executive officers of NEPI Rockcastle, with Dan Pascariu appointed as independent non-executive chairman. The merged entity is expected to become the largest listed real estate player in CEE.

EY has established a dedicated Real Estate & Hospitality Advisory team based in Prague covering the Czech Republic and the Central Eastern European region. The team will focus on the areas of Corporate Strategic Advisory, Capital Markets, Valuations, Commercial Due Diligence as well as Capital Raising combining traditional property services with business, financial and legal advisory.

HB Reavis has appointed George Leslie as its new Head of Investment Management. In this new role, Leslie will lead and grow HB Reavis’ Investment Management business and support the company’s international expansion plans. 

CBRE is the first consultancy in Poland to expand its Hotel Investment Department, thus increasing the number of commercial property market sectors serviced. CBRE has for many years now been operating on the hotel market, where the CBRE Hotels business line has been extremely active in Western Europe. Expanding the business in Poland to include this particular sector constitutes a strategic business decision stemming from the growing interest from investors and hotel chain operators.

Goodman Group, an owner, developer and manager of industrial real estate, has appointed István Kerekes as the Country Manager for Hungary. With vast experience in commercial real estate, István will be responsible for Goodman’s properties in Gyál, Üllő and Kecskemet and will work towards strengthening the Group’s portfolio in Hungary.

Colliers International has launched its Workplace Solutions consultancy in the Czech Republic after having been met with success on other global markets for over 10 years.

International real estate developer HB Reavis has appointed Peter Ceresnik as Group Leasing Director. In his new role Peter will lead the company’s five leasing teams, as well as its marketing and IT divisions.

CBRE Hungary continued its expansion in 2016: the project management team has expanded to five members, and the work of the retail real estate unit is supported by a new senior professional. The team responsible for capital market operations is also completing significant orders, so this area has also increased the number of staff in 2016. The industrial property experts, in turn, have set a record with the market share of CBRE.

As the term of three board members ended, RICS has presented its new board in Hungary. Further strengthened by strong professional and business skills, the new board represents an interesting mix of areas covered.