The spread of the hybrid model of working, fast-tracked digitalization of business processes, combined with increased awareness about the importance of employee well-being are the main trends that shaped the office market in Poland in 2020. An indirect effect of the Covid-19 pandemic was an increase in lease renegotiations, as well as a rise in the amount of space available on a sublet basis. AXI IMMO presents a preliminary analysis of the key trends in the Polish office market this year.

Belgian real estate developer Atenor entrusted the Budapest History Museum with the archaeological excavation of the plot of 68-84 Bécsi Road in Óbuda, on which it is implementing one of its latest projects, the 15,000 sqm RoseVille office building. The archaeological research carried out on the plot is significant as it was finally possible to examine the large, connected area of the Roman time cemetery of the military town of Aquincum.

Master Management Group (MMG) has been granted an occupancy permit for its Hi Piotrkowska complex in Łódź. In December the first tenants are gradually to start their operations from the main building. At the same time, MMG has signed further leases including with the Rossmann drugstore and the Łódź-based florist Badylarz.

Demand in the third quarter of the year picked up Zagreb’s office market compensating for the slow market activity observed in the second quarter of 2020. Cushman & Wakefield | CBS International Croatia published its Q3 2020 report for the Zagreb office market.

Managing directors believe that the conditions for doing business in the next six months will be the same or better than now. Only 9% of people fear that it will get worse. This optimism translates into the belief that employees will return to their offices in mid-2021, according to the CBRE report "The Future of the Office Survey". Currently, companies are prevented from physically returning to their office space by the high number of cases in a given country, the risk of the virus spreading through the company, and the employees’ reluctance to return.

The public sector, which employs over 3 million people in Poland, is becoming an increasingly stronger player on the office real estate market.

Mindspace, a global provider of flexible workspaces, together with JLL, Colliers International, CBRE, ShareSpace and Brookfield Partners, has published an eBook with forecasts for the development of the flex office space sector in Poland. The experts agree that the current situation has prompted a number of companies to analyse their long-term lease obligations and redesign their strategies for further actions.

Israeli investment group AFI Properties has signed an agreement for the acquisition of the T-Mobile Office Park in the Warsaw district of Mokotów for about €100 million. The previous owner was Starwood Capital Group.

Developed by Wing, the brand-new headquarters building of evosoft Hungary Kft., a Siemens subsidiary, was completed on time and tailored fully to the tenant’s needs. Located at the Buda end of the Rákóczi Bridge, the 22,000 sqm complex was completed as part of the second phase of the Hungarian Nobel Prize Winners R&D Park. The building, home to a six-storey research and development facility, is equipped with cutting-edge technology and meets Gold-level environmental friendliness and energy efficiency LEED certification criteria. Evosoft is expected to begin moving into the building in December 2020.

As was the case in the global financial crisis, the number of companies looking for cost savings continues to grow, with some deciding to sublease their offices.