Cushman & Wakefield’s latest DNA of Real Estate research, covering trends in prime rents and yields across Europe, highlights further strengthening in leasing and investment markets in the first quarter of 2022 as economies fully reopen from the pandemic.

In Q1 2022, GTC’s adjusted EBITDA was at €26 million (€24 million in Q1 2021) and the net profit amounted to €15 million (€9 million in Q1 2021). This mainly resulted from a strong operating performance combined with profit from revaluation/impairment of assets of €3 million, partially offset by an increase in foreign exchange differences loss by €1 million.

After the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, real estate developers in Kyiv stopped working on construction sites and focused on defence processes. They handed over their equipment and materials for the construction of protective structures, created volunteer organizations, etc. By now, after the de-occupation of the settlements around the capital and the relative stabilization of the situation in Kyiv, some developers began to resume work on construction sites. Iryna Nastych summarised the situation in an article prepared by the Ukrainian Real Estate Club for Property Forum.

ESG can lead to a fundamental transformation of today’s business environment but for that to happen the approach of both landlords and tenants must change, according to the participants of the ESG panel at Prague Property Forum 2022.

The Hungarian construction industry started off this year with an exceptionally high Activity Start indicator: nearly HUF 1,300 billion worth of construction works started in Q1 2022. The Activity Start of EBI Construction Activity Report in the first quarter is a new record (construction works have never started in such a high value in one quarter) and exceeded the level of Q2 2021 (the highest so far) by almost 37%. Yet, this spike is mainly thanks to the launch of two major infrastructure projects, according to the EBI Construction Activity Report, prepared by Buildecon, Eltinga (creation of indicators and development of algorithms for aggregation) and iBuild (project research and project database).

According to Yasen Georgiev from EPI, EECFA Bulgaria, like elsewhere in the EECFA countries that are not directly impacted by the war in Ukraine, the construction market in Bulgaria entered a period of an increasing unpredictability. What stands behind is an interplay between domestic and external factors.

The city of Ljubljana is expected to see some major urban change by 2025. As it was announced last month, a huge mixed-use project will be built next to the city’s planned new transportation hub, including a hotel, a shopping centre, offices and apartments. The Emonika project, which has a long history, will be developed by Mendota Invest, owned by Hungary’s OTP Real Estate Investment Fund. Property Forum summarised what we know about the project so far and how it could potentially transform Slovenia’s small and illiquid commercial real estate market.

The war launched by Russia on February 24th is still going on in Ukraine. Infrastructure facilities are being damaged every day. The cost of damages that experts share changes daily. According to the Centre for Economic Policy Research, the total expenses for reconstruction will range from $220 billion to $540 billion, writes Anna Nestulia, Principal at Invest in Projects for Property Forum.

The beginning of the year was marked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine which caused various obstacles to the Slovak economy. It pushes inflation up to the highest in 17 years as also the prices of food, housing and energy. Nevertheless, the lifted lockdown measures helped boost retail sales and new office leases surpassed renegotiations for the sixth quarter in a row. Experts also saw a record quarter with substantial take-up and plunging vacancy rates, Cushman & Wakefield Slovakia presents in their new report on the Slovak economy.

The beginning of Q1 2022 has brought record numbers. €898 million was invested into Czech real estate assets in Q1 2022, demonstrating a 210% year-on-year increase. Without the c. €1.3 billion Residomo transaction which was closed in Q1 2020, this quarter's investment volume would be the highest since Q1 2019, Savills' latest research shows.