Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has prompted such a unified response from the international business community that has probably not been observed since the creation of the internet. Companies across the world are standing with Ukraine, discontinuing their operations in Russia and taking their part in helping the victims of the war. Real estate companies in CEE have also stepped up to donate money, space and other resources to those in need. We’ve compiled a list of the humanitarian efforts announced by local and global companies. Luckily, the list below is not complete as many new announcements are made every day. We’ll keep updating it.

On 15-18 March, the team of CEE-based proptech company Maxify will showcase their innovative product at international real estate fair MIPIM for the first time.

VGP has announced a charitable contribution of €3 million to support refugees from Ukraine in Slovakia, Hungary and Romania.

Futureal-Cordia-HelloParks Group and its employees have made a number of commitments to help refugees from Ukraine.

Low interest rates and high inflation continue to drive demand for investment properties with the residential asset class remaining highly popular. As more and more private individuals, family offices and trusts are diversifying their portfolios, Arnold Investments has greatly expanded their commercial property segment. Investments in critical retail properties, logistics and offices are currently interesting, but hotels are also performing surprisingly well. Multinational brokerage firm Arnold Investments, which supported almost 100 transactions in 2021, summarised key investment market trends in Austria and other regional countries.

CTP has committed €10 million to the UN refugee agency UNHCR to provide humanitarian support for more than one million people, mainly women and children, who have fled the war in Ukraine into neighbouring countries.

JRD Group sold real assets worth CZK 1.054 billion in 2021, increased the capacity of photovoltaic power plants in Hungary to 30 MWp and commissioned a new prototype plasma gasification reactor. The JRD Land and JRD Development divisions were also strengthened, the company announced in its annual report.   

Globalworth’s adjusted normalised EBITDA decreased by 8.1% to €130.2 million in 2021, compared to €141.6 million in 2020, due to a lower net operating income. Net profit significantly improved to €47.5 million (2020: net loss of €46.8 million) due to marginal revaluation losses of €5.7 million in 2021 compared to the €116.2 million revaluation losses in 2020. The company published its unaudited financial results for 2021

The crisis caused by rising energy prices worldwide could give a new impetus to the proptech sector which would make the real estate market more efficient through smart digital solutions. In addition to reducing costs, technology increases efficiency, contributes to sustainability and even offers alternative revenue opportunities. ProptechZoOm.com has conducted a comprehensive analysis of the present and future of the Hungarian digital real estate sector by interviewing proptech industry players.

Romanian developer One United Properties recorded revenues of 1.1 billion lei (€222 million) during 2021, up 105% year-on-year, while the gross profit expanded almost two-fold to 603.5 million lei (€122 million) over higher residential sales and increased rental income.