CTP is significantly expanding activities on the Hungarian market. The company announced two new land acquisitions in strategic locations during its presentation for real estate agents and journalists. The first plot of land is located in Biatorbágy, and the second land plot is near Dunaharaszti, which is one of CTP’s newest locations. These acquisitions are a result of CTP’s expansion plan, which will increase the value of assets owned by the group in Hungary from €250 million to €320 million by the end of 2018.

The EBRD and ING Romania are joining forces to finance the logistics park CTPark, situated on the A1 Bucharest-Pitesti motorway and 2 km away from the Romanian capital. The financiers have arranged a package of €96 million, of which the EBRD is providing €43.8 million and ING €52.2 million.

Although nearly 120,000 square meters of new industrial / logistics space was delivered to the Budapest market in 2017 which is almost double of the figure delivered in 2016. It may still occur that by the end of the year the available warehouse units with 5,000 sqm+ space will disappear from the Budapest market and its surrounding area, according to Colliers International's latest industrial property market report.

In 2017, CTP increased its portfolio by approximately 680,000 sqm and reached a record 4.5 million sqm. Occupancy of its industrial real estate — spread across over 82 locations in the region — came to 97.7%. The greatest expansion occurred in the Romanian and Hungarian markets. By 2022, CTP aims to double its portfolio, reaching 10 million sqm.

LS Cable, a Korean manufacturing company, has decided to launch its division in Dzierżoniów - in the region of Lower Silesia. The facility will be established within an existing object offering 10,000 sqm. Experts from JLL represented LS Cable in the processes of seeking the appropriate property and negotiating purchase conditions.

Prologis has already fully leased its new 28,300 sqm speculative facility now under construction at Prologis Park Prague-Uzice in the Czech Republic. Construction of Building 3 began in January 2018 and was launched due to high demand for space at the fully occupied park.

China has reclaimed top spot in Cushman & Wakefield’s global ranking of the most attractive markets for manufacturing, confirming its status as the sector’s powerhouse. Last year’s number one ranked country, Malaysia, falls to third place behind Lithuania.

Panattoni Europe is to build a courier delivery distribution centre for DHL Parcel Polska. The cross-docking facility will feature close to 9,000 sqm and will be built in Radzymin. Construction works commenced at the beginning of the year and will be finished in October 2018. The lease was signed for 10 years, and the contract was mediated by the international advisory firm CBRE.

The year 2017 saw the greatest amount of industrial space built in Europe in its history – more than 3.7 million sqm. This represents a 68% increase over 2016 and a 55% increase over the existing record dating back to 2007 (an additional 1.2 million sqm). The total industrial space in the region has increased by 17% as a result. Such are the results of a survey conducted by Cushman & Wakefield, a company that has been monitoring the industrial property market in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary and Romania on a long-term basis.

Zalando Lounge, online fashion platform Zalando’s shopping club, plans to build a 130,000 square meters large fulfilment centre together with its developer Hillwood. The new site will increase the logistics capacity of Zalando Lounge and flexibility of operations. Intralogistics will be tailored to the specific requirements of Zalando Lounge, taking temporary campaigns and occasionally larger products from the home category into account. The site will be operated by a provider. About 500 jobs will be created in the mid-term.