Although the COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly changed the model of work around the world, attitudes on this matter are still visibly evolving – since the first wave of the lockdown until today the number of people working only from the office has increased by 26%. Almost half of employees go to the office every day, despite over 60% of respondents claiming that they do have comfortable working conditions at home. Employees in all surveyed countries indicated the ability to maintain a work-life balance and have direct conversations with co-workers as the biggest advantages of working in the office. These are only some of the conclusions drawn from a study conducted on behalf of Skanska office development unit in CEE.

The activity on the Bulgarian real estate market was strongly affected by the COVID-19 crisis, but we saw more resilience for the investment and industrial sectors which registered both an increase during the last year. For 2021, the forecasts are still positive for the investment property market and for the industrial development sector, according to the Sofia City Report H2 2020, released by JLL Romania with the support of IPC Partners Bulgaria.

On 12 March, Belgian developer Atenor is launching an issue of 4-year and 6-year green bonds for a minimum amount of, respectively, €15 million and €50 million in the form of a public offer in Belgium open to retail investors and, to a certain extent, qualified investors.

Organiser Reed MIDEM announced that MIPIM 2021 has been moved from June to September due to continuing health and safety concerns. MIPIM September Edition, a hybrid event, is now scheduled to take place in Cannes, September 7-8, 2021.

Concrete and the cement used as a binder in it have been found one of the major contributors to climate change. Cement production accounted for 7% of all global carbon dioxide emissions in 2018, a ratio unlikely to decrease in coming decades as concrete remains one of the most often used resources on Earth. This has made creating a technology that prevents large quantities of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere when concrete is poured necessary, according to an article by the World Economic Forum.

Property Forum’s upcoming free-to-attend virtual event will aim to provide a property investment outlook for 2021. In the form of a keynote speech and two panel discussions, influential investors, developers and advisors will share their expectations and investment strategies for the second pandemic year.

Hungary’s property investment volume is expected to expand dynamically in 2021, since a significant amount of capital is looking for its place in the market. Offices with high levels of occupancy and logistics assets will be in the focus of investors. Hungarian advisory firm Eston, an official associate of Savills, has published its market reports for H2 2020.

In 2020, Globalworth’s Net Operating Income increased by 6.5% to €157.3 million, despite the negative effect (-2.3%) of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company announced its unaudited financial results for 2020.

The first year of the pandemic brought many lessons for all entrepreneurs and business executives. With plans and expectations upside down, many companies have had to adapt to new realities, regardless of the field. One of the big winners of the crisis was retail park operators that now plan heavy expansion in the coming years. Property Forum takes a look at Romania’s retail park pipeline.

According to Knight Frank’s The Wealth Report 2021 released today, private capital has been undeterred by the COVID-19 pandemic and has continued to invest in commercial real estate around the world. The volume of private capital invested globally was circa $232 billion - 9% above the ten-year average, albeit down on 2019 levels.