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.

Marera Real Estate Partners, a sister company of Marera Properties, has acquired the historical landmark of the publishing house BIGZ built in 1941. This monumental property spreads across over 40,000 sqm. With an investment of over €40 million, it will be turned into a modern business centre over an 18 month period of time. For project implementation, Marera Real Estate Partners is joining forces with Aleksandar gradnja, a company with proven expertise in residential development.

Cornerstone Partners, a corporate and real estate private equity investment manager, together with Crestyl Group, a Czech leader in developing multi-purpose real estate projects, have entered into a contract to buy Polish residential developer Budimex Nieruchomości. Other partners participating in the deal include blue-chip financial investors. The conclusion of the transaction is subject to approval from Poland's Anti-Monopoly Office.

Although recently analysts have been focusing primarily on the impact of the pandemic, long-term trends on the property market are also shaped by another factor, namely climate change. The term sustainable development in real estate most often has positive connotations. Certificates granted to “green buildings” increase their prestige and appeal to future users. However, the environmental factor in property valuation also has its dark side. Commentary by Alicja Zajler, director of Valuation and Advisory Services at Colliers.

Echo Investment will take over a majority stake of the Wrocław-based Archicom company from its founders. Once the transaction is finalized, the Echo-Archicom group will be the largest residential developer in Poland – only in 2021, it will start the construction of 7,000 apartments for sale and rent.

According to JLL, the value of real estate investment transactions in Central and Eastern Europe totalled more than €9.7 billion in 2020. Poland with €5.6 billion continued its dominance among CEE countries, with the Czech Republic in second place with €1.5 billion (after excluding the Residomo deal of €1.3 billion). Total volumes in Hungary amounted to €1.25 billion, while in Romania and Slovakia total value hit €900 and €525 million respectively.

London-based investor Tritax EuroBox has agreed to sell its asset in Łódź, Poland for €65.5 million to Savills Investment Management, acting on behalf of the Vestas European Strategic Allocation Logistics Fund (VESALF I), a fund raised solely from Korean institutional investors.

White Stone Development, a part of White Stone capital group has successfully placed its first unsecured bond issue worth PLN 11 million. Due to the demand exceeding the maximum bid, the reduction of subscriptions reached nearly 20%.

Gran Via Real Estate announced the acquisition of a new plot in Bucharest for residential development. 

CBRE Hungary has assisted Henkel in the sale of its Budapest headquarters in District 11 of the capital’s Buda side, the company announced on Linkedin. The buyer’s name and the transaction price have not been disclosed.