According to Cushman & Wakefield, robust commercial real estate investment activity in the core Central European markets of Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania continued in the second quarter of 2016 and reached EUR 2.6 billion, a 56% increase on Q1. This has pushed volumes over the last twelve months to EUR 9.3 billion, close to 2007 record levels.

Immofinanz recorded net profit of EUR -390.4 million for the 2015/16 financial year (2014/15: EUR -376.6 million). The year-on-year decline resulted primarily from EUR -469.8 million of negative effects from the foreign exchange-adjusted valuation of the Russian portfolio and from a decrease in rental income to EUR 314.5 million (2014/15: EUR 385.6 million) which was caused by temporary rent reductions in Moscow and the planned sale of properties.

Commercial real estate investment remained strong across Europe in Q2 2016 totaling €54.0 billion, up 2.5 per cent on Q1 2016 and 30.4 per cent on the ten year average. Investment into CEE countries for H1 2016 registered a substantial increase (59%) compared to same period of last year, reaching almost €5 billion. Expectations are that for the entire year, investment volumes will reach and exceed the record volumes of 2015, with all CEE countries expected to perform strongly.

Rockcastle, a listed retail property company, has acquired Forum Liberec from British retailer Tesco for approx. 80 milionl EUR. Forum Liberec is a regional shopping centre located in the heart of Liberec, the capital of the North Bohemia region. The 47,000 sqm centre is tenanted by strong retailers including: Tesco, Cinema City, C&A, Datart, Gant, H&M, Lindex, New Yorker, Nord Blanc, Norma, ProBest, Reserved, Sportissimo and Tiger. 

In one of the largest single office deals in the City of London market this year, international real estate developer HB Reavis is selling 33 Central to Wells Fargo, the third largest bank in the U.S. by assets. Upon completion in Q3 2017, 33 Central, which is HB Reavis’ first London development, will allow Wells Fargo to consolidate all of its London-based team members in a single location.

“Total commercial real estate investment in the Czech Republic recorded €490m in Q2 2016 contributing to an H1 2016 total of €950 million, a 26% reduction on the same period of last year. However, it should be noted that the considerable difference is due to the Palladium shopping centre transaction in H1 2015. When excluded, H1 2016 was 34% up on H1 2015,” says Jiri Horak, investment analyst at JLL.     

The sharp rebound of the Hungarian real estate investment market witnessed in H2 2015 has gained further momentum during the first half of this year. According to JLL the transaction volume of the first semester reached more than EUR 910 million, already more than during the full 2015 year, highlighting the increasing weight of capital targeting Hungarian assets.

GTC has announced the acquisition of Neptun Office Center and Sterlinga Business Center, located in Gdańsk and Łódź respectively. These two Class A office buildings, featuring modern design and a total GLA of 30,000 sqm and 364 parking places, will enrich the Group’s Polish investment portfolio.

CTP has recently signed an agreement to purchase two logistics sites with a combined floor space of 66,000 square meters from Raiffeisen Group member DAV Property Kft. The new properties acquired using a loan from Raiffeisen Bank Zrt. have increased the total floor space of CTP’s warehouse facilities in Üllő to 100,000 square meters and that of its total Hungarian industrial property portfolio to 135,000 square meters. 

Last Thursday the United Kingdom has voted to leave the European Union which has triggered panic on financial markets. Players of the property market are also in shock all over Europe, eager to find out what Brexit means for the future of their investments.