The end of 2020 saw the completion of an investment transaction that will enable the future development of one of the largest logistics parks in the Czech Republic on the extensive land surrounding the D5 motorway near Pilsen. CBRE prepared and managed the disposal process on behalf of the Icelandic asset manager Kaupthing. CBRE in addition to advising on the sale, also assisted with land due diligence, feasibility study and provided technical advisory. The new owner of the land is retail chain Lidl.

The Negoiță family, which also includes the mayor of sector 3 of Bucharest, bought a land of over 10 hectares of the former Tubinox pipe factory from the Indian steel group Viraj, Profit.ro informs.

CTP is expanding its industrial park north of the Serbian capital, CTPark Belgrade North, following the purchase of a 28,500 sqm warehouse and adjacent land for further development from Austrian-based real estate developer Eyemaxx. As a result, the overall capacity of CTPark Belgrade North now stands at 50,000 sqm, with the landbank enabling to achieve about 115,000 sqm of leaseable space at the location.

US investor Starwood Capital, through its Luxembourg holding company SOF-11 Klimt CAI S.à r.l., has increased its stake in Austrian company CA Immo to 29.99% in the past few weeks and announced a takeover offer for the remaining shares for €34.44 per share. Starwood also plans to submit an offer for CA Immo’s convertible bonds.

The third fund of Czech investor Arete Group has acquired a modern, highly specialized production facility with a research and development centre and with the potential for further development in Kežmarok, Slovakia. The value of the investment exceeded €10 million.

Croatia-based hotel group Arena Hospitality Group d.d.¸ through its local subsidiary has successfully completed the acquisition of Hotel 88 Rooms in Belgrade. The transaction value amounted to €5.95 million (HRK 45 million).

According to experts of Cushman & Wakefield, this year’s total volume of transactions is expected to reach €9.4 billion in Central Europe, which will represent a one-third decrease on last year’s figure. Poland’s share in the total transaction volume - albeit down by one-fourth compared with last year - will hit approximately 60%.

Real estate asset and investment manager GalCap Europe has acquired the Koszykowa 54 office building in Warsaw. The seller is a mutual fund managed by UBS Real Estate GmbH. The office building was acquired under the mandate of a German pension fund and complements the existing CEE component within the investor's individual fund structure, which is managed by 2IP Institutional Investment Partners.

J&T Banka has acquired the eight-story Rustonka office complex in Prague 8 from Gramexo, which is part of a group of companies affiliated with the J&T Group, for €80 million (CZK 2.1 billion).

Immofinanz is continuing the expansion of its Stop Shop retail park brand, as announced, and has added eight locations to the portfolio shortly before the end of the year. Six fully rented retail parks in Serbia and the Czech Republic with roughly 43,000 sqm were purchased from Mitiska REIM, a Belgian investor specialised in these types of commercial properties. In addition, Immofinanz closed the purchase of a fully rented retail park (approx. 5,500 sqm) in Voitsberg, Austria, during the fourth quarter of 2020. The portfolio in Croatia will be increased by one property in the city of Ludbreg.