“Sheds, Beds, Meds” and other alternative market sectors will dominate the EMEA investment agenda this year, as investors remain risk-averse, focusing on core markets with better long-term growth prospects until the economic impact of COVID-19 abates. These findings form part of ‘The Signal Report: Investor’s Quarterly Guide to 2021’, the latest global investment insights from Cushman & Wakefield.

Consistent implementation of planned investments now requires companies to search for alternative ways of raising capital.

The valuation department of the real estate consulting company Cushman & Wakefield Echinox evaluated in 2020 over 350 properties with a total value of €4.2 billion, while the research department provided consultancy to developers for the start of new projects with a market value of over €250 million.

Sale and leaseback transactions (S&LB) in Europe reached a total of €8.4 billion in 2020, 8.5% higher than the five year average, with the trend set to continue into 2021, according to Savills. Also in Poland, Savills sees an increasing number of companies willing to take the sale and lease back route mainly in industrial and retail sectors.

After a year in which the volume of investments amounted to about €900 million, 2021 will not be as rosy. Colliers consultants foresee a total volume for commercial real estate transactions in excess of €500 million. They also see room for a slight decrease in yields by the end of the year for prime office and prime industrial, if the economy, political and monetary system will be satisfactory.

CTP has announced its intention to launch an initial offering and to apply for admission to listing and trading of its shares on Euronext Amsterdam. The logistics investor and developer aims to raise between €800 million and €1 billion.

Globalworth has announced that since the beginning of 2021 all 22 of the properties in its Polish portfolio use 100% green energy from renewable sources.

Alides, the Ghent-based property developer and investor, has purchased Gdańsk’s Waterside office complex from DEKA Immobilien. The building has a marketable surface of 9,320 sqm and is located in the historic Old Town. This is Alides' second acquisition in Gdańsk, following the purchase of the Imperial Shipyard in 2017 together with Revive.  The purchase price has not been disclosed.

CA Immo has successfully closed the sale of the Bratislava Business Center 1 and 1 Plus office buildings in Bratislava to Wood & Company, a leading investment bank in Central and Eastern Europe. The office complex covers rentable area of around 25,500 sqm.

pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank has provided an investment loan facility totalling €66.5 million for an office portfolio managed by GalCap Europe on behalf of an institutional client. The fund will utilise the proceeds for the refinancing of a mixed-use portfolio with assets in Budapest and Warsaw. pbb acted as arranger and sole lender under the facility.