The H1 data indicate that the worst-case scenarios regarding the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Warsaw office market did not materialize. According to a report published by Cresa Poland, the second quarter witnessed a substantial volume of new supply which has now been almost fully absorbed by the market. A total of 100,000 sqm was delivered in Warsaw with an additional 700,000 sqm currently under construction.

Echo Investment has gained a loan for the construction of the MidPoint71 office building, that is being built in Wrocław on Powstańców Śląskich street. PKO Bank Polski provided the financing of the project. In accordance with the signed loan agreement, the bank granted Echo Investment €54.4 million in a construction loan, as well as a PLN 7 million VAT loan. Once the construction is finished, the construction loan will be converted to an investment loan. The total funding period ends on 30 June 2026.

Total office market demand reached 335,000 sqm in H1 2020 on the Warsaw office market. In fact, demand for office space in Q2 was significantly higher than in Q1. Vacancy rates across Warsaw increased slightly by 0.1 p.p., with 770,000 sqm under construction. JLL summarised the Warsaw office market in H1 2020.

ConvergenCE has been appointed the exclusive contract to support the owner, HB Reavis to lease the Agora Tower office building which recently opened on Budapest’s Váci Road office corridor.

From July 2020, KGAL Investment Management Group GmbH, based in Germany, has appointed Savills as local asset manager for DRN, an office complex on Národní St., Prague 1.

Globalworth published a trading update summarising the key highlights of its operating performance during the first six months of the year, including some further updates as to the impact of the pandemic crisis on its operations.

The Romanian unit of German automotive parts supplier Continental has completed a €27 million investment in the expansion of its office building in Iași.

Law firm Kinstellar has successfully represented OTP Bank and its Bulgarian subsidiary, DSK Bank, in negotiating a €25 million loan for the construction and operation of Balkan Business Center, a major office complex in Sofia.

The top 50 largest technology companies in Romania, which realise software and digital solutions for group companies or for third parties, have increased their turnover and teams in Romania by approximately four times in the last ten years, reaching a cumulative turnover of €3 billion and over 50,000 employees in 2019, according to a Cushman & Wakefield Echinox analysis.

In the first half of 2020, Globalworth leased nearly 50,000 sqm of office space in its buildings in Poland. In the last 3 months, during very difficult time of the COVID-19 pandemic, the asset management & leasing department of the CEE office investor has signed contracts for a total area exceeding 28,000 sqm.