The industrial and logistics market has not been directly influenced by the Ukrainian war, but inflation, rising interest rates and changes to our supplier-customer relationships are affecting it indirectly, says Accolade Group CEO Milan Kratina. Nevertheless, he thinks that there are still a lot of aspects which haven’t changed for a long time, such as the shortage of warehouse and manufacturing space or the ongoing trend of nearshoring. And all of this is raising the demand for a more self-sufficient Europe.

High inflation and rising interest rates pose a threat to the upturn in the economy which many expected following the pandemic. Dieter Knittel, Managing Director, Head of CEE at Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG (pbb) talked to Property Forum about financing trends and shared his expectations for the upcoming period.

Liviu Tudor, Founder and Chairman of Genesis Property, spoke to Property Forum about the development status of the YUNITY Park project in northern Bucharest and the upgraded experience that offices have to offer to tenant companies and their employees for future growth.

Dimitris Raptis, Globalworth Group CEO, spoke to Property Forum about the investments made to secure a smooth return of employees to the company’s office buildings and the importance of sustainability and market-leading certifications in a hybrid work ecosystem.

Purpose-built student accommodations are in short supply across the region, but some investors and developers find them very attractive. However, due to the recent dramatic economic changes, companies need to adapt to tougher business conditions and adjust their development pipelines accordingly, says Bálint Botos, Managing Partner of Forestay Group.

Mihaela-Cora Cristescu, CEO of Atalian Romania spoke to Property Forum about the growth of the local facility management market and about investments in new technologies, including robots, which are expected by companies in the commercial real estate sector.

We can see many significant changes, architectural achievements and positive trends in the Czech real estate market. Nevertheless, there is still much to do, says Zdenka Klapalová who is the President of the Association for Real Estate Market Development (ARTN) and has followed the Czech real estate market as an expert for more than 30 years.

Lavinia Ioniță Rasmussen, Partner at Romanian law firm NNDKP, spoke to Property Forum about the real estate segments that are driving the real estate investment market in 2022 and the progress in harmonising national legislation with effects on the real estate industry, especially in the area of building permits. The firm has a diversified portfolio of property clients and expects a continuation of this trend this year.

Aurelia Luca, Executive Vice President Operations Hungary and Romania at Skanska spoke to Property Forum about the flexibility of office space amid the popularity of hybrid working and the ESG criteria that will dominate office leasing and investment activity in the coming years.

Ryan Wray, Managing Director and Principal at Avison Young, Czech Republic, talked to Property Forum about the perils of today’s macroeconomic conditions investors may reckon with in their decision-making and looked at possible scenarios and working strategies for office occupiers in the Czech office market.