The investment volume achieved in 2016 totalled almost €1.2 billion with 46 transactions recorded in core CEE hotel investment markets. In comparison, 2015 reached just over €700 million with 45 transactions. Austria was the star performer with almost €800 million transacted, which made up 67% of the total investment volume. In other CEE markets volume was lower than in 2015 with a particular decline in Poland which more than halved in volume. The Czech Republic accounted for 18% of total CEE investment share; most of the investment took place in Prague which saw 7 transactions including the Hilton Old Town, Park Hotel and Chopin Hotel.
The CEE hotel industry reported growth across all key performance metrics. Increasing number of tourists have chosen CEE destinations, thus occupancy rates returned or even surpassed the pre-crisis levels, reaching 72% on average up from 69%. As the cost of visiting CEE has gone up along with the increasing hotel room rates, profits have been soaring. The average price per room reached €76.6 up from €73.6 in 2015. While the Eastern markets achieved double digit growth in terms of revenue per available room, the more mature markets of Central Europe including Prague and Warsaw saw growth of around 6%.
Money has been flowing in from Far East Asia, the Middle East, America as well as Europe. Hence the region has become truly international.
“In the last few years the region has seen important inflows of capital as wider groups of investors try to take advantage of the strong performance of the local hotel industry. Among the key factors driving performance are the continued strength of inbound international tourism into the CEE region, supported by Asian travellers as well as the re-focus of North African and Western European tourism. Moreover the willingness of banks to finance hotel acquisitions has significantly enticed high investor demand,” says David Nath, Head of CEE Hospitality Team at Cushman & Wakefield.
Banks’ appetite for lending is reflected in the return in hotel development activity with 2017 expected to deliver an additional 4,000 rooms across Central and Eastern European capital cities. The markets with the greatest development prospects are Warsaw and Budapest. Prague is an exception with a limited pipeline due to planning constraints and only a few sites suitable for hotel development.
“Although we expect growth to slow down slightly, during 2017, the investment market will remain robust compared to other more established markets in Western Europe. We will also see increasing capital invested in less mature hotel investment markets such as Bucharest and Sofia” says Frederic Le Fichoux, Head of Hotel Transactions - Continental Europe and adds “Average daily rate is expected to rise further, generating higher income returns for investors especially in more mature CEE markets, where the development pipeline is limited.”
In 2017, investors’ activity will be notable especially in Hungarian, Austrian and Romanian hotel investment markets, where significant assets are set to be put up for sale or about to be transacted.
The Hungarian branch of Tech Mahindra has prolonged its lease in the CityZen office building in Budapest. OTIS Group has also signed an extension of its lease on the same property.
Poland's only concept store of the fashion brand PRM can now be visited at Fabryka Norblin, a complex in the Capital Park Group's portfolio in Warsaw. The PRM store occupies an area of nearly 600 sqm.
Douglas is opening its 150th perfumery in Poland, in Galeria Starówka in Leszno (western Poland). The new perfumery occupies an area of 196 sqm and is the second perfumery in the city.
New appointments
Piotr Herian has taken up the position of ISS CFO for Poland and the Baltics. ISS is a leading company in the creation of friendly workplaces and comprehensive facilities management.
Paulina Strutyńska has been promoted to the position of Leasing & Asset Director at Skanska’s commercial development business unit. She is now responsible for leasing processes in the Warsaw market as well as Key Customer Management. Agnieszka Krawczyk-Rogowska is responsible for project commercialization and client liaison in Gdańsk, Kraków, and Bucharest, while Marek Stasieńko is responsible for the Wrocław, Poznań, and Łódź markets.
The Supervisory Board of Globe Trade Centre S.A. has appointed Balázs Gosztonyi as a member of the Management Board of GTC S.A. Balázs Gosztonyi has held the position of Chief Financial Officer at GTC Hungary since January 2024. He joined GTC Group in September 2023 as Group Controlling Director.
In 2024, the total investment volume in Poland amounted to €364 million, marking the weakest result for the first quarter in recent years. Interestingly, 25% of the invested capital comes from Polish investors. The warehouse sector remains the leader, accounting for 38% of the total investment volume. Unchanged, the vast majority of office transactions took place in Warsaw, while commercial investments were dominated by retail parks. Additionally, the market also saw two transactions in the residential sector in Warsaw, and two hotels were sold in seaside tourist cities, says Paulina Brzeszkiewicz-Kuczyńska, Research and Data Manager at Avison Young.
The 4-day workweek is becoming an increasingly hot topic. Although in Poland it still appears to be a thing of the future, recent years have shown how quickly labour market trends are changing. AI is also broadly expected to have a significant effect on the workplace. BNP Paribas Real Estate experts are wondering, how will all of this impact the commercial real estate market.
The vacancy rate at the end of Q1 2024 reached 8.9% in Greater Budapest, representing a 0.3 percentage points increase quarter-on-quarter, while an increase of 3 percentage points was registered year-on-year, the Budapest Research Forum reports.
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