Preliminary figures compiled by Savills suggest that the total real estate investment volume in Europe for the first quarter of the year will reach approximately €70 billion, a 19.5% increase year-on-year. Despite geopolitical events, the real estate advisor expects solid European investment activity for the remainder of the year, notably fuelled by large portfolio and entity deals.

MLP Group's financial standing remains very strong, as confirmed by the posted results for 2021. Last year, MLP Group’s net asset value (NAV) went up 51%, to PLN 1.82 billion (€396.7 million). The value of its investment property rose 46%, to around PLN 3.4 billion (€752 million). Consolidated rental income (i.e. revenue from the Group's core business) was PLN 196 million (€42.8 million), representing a nearly 15% increase year on year. At PLN 632.3 million (€138.1 million), operating profit surged 112% year on year, with a nearly threefold increase in net profit, to PLN 480.5 million (€105.0 million).

Several large Polish real estate companies have joined forces to help refugees in Poland that are fleeing the war in Ukraine under the #Property4Ukraine initiative. The companies will provide a temporary home for 3,000 refugees from Ukraine. They are already moving into four buildings belonging to Echo Investment, Grupa Archicom, Globalworth and Skanska.

Pál Darida, Director of Transactions and Financing at Futureal Group, passed away on Monday, the group announced. 

Property developer Globalworth is providing 12,000 sqm of its portfolio in Romania and Poland for Ukraine war humanitarian relief efforts. The spaces will be used to accommodate refugees and provide them with related logistical support as well as depositing and sorting the donations. 

Property investments in Romania totaled €919.4 million during 2021, with Austrian investment dominating the rank among foreign players closing deals on the local market. Last year, Austrian investors bought office and retail spaces with a combined value of €323 million. Czech and Hungarian property players had shares of €173 million and €150 million, respectively, according to a report by real estate consultancy Fortim, a member of BNP Paribas Real Estate Alliance. 

Construction of the new metro line in Prague is in sight. In the second week of March this year, the Ministry of Transport decided to reject the appeal of the opponents of the construction, who had originally appealed against the issuance of a building permit for the construction of the new metro line D. The Prague City Transport Company (DPP) is now waiting for the deadline for the decision to come into force. Then it can start the construction, the Czech Press Agency reported.

As technology has taken an increasingly important strategic role in the evolution and development of real estate, the challenges facing the people leading that innovation charge are becoming apparent.

Build-to-rent (PRS), industrial and offices are the asset classes that will continue to attract investments in CEE this year, although a prolonged geopolitical crisis could hamper development plans, commented speakers during Property Forum’s latest online event which aimed to provide a property investment outlook for 2022.

Reducing carbon emissions is surely becoming a top priority for landlords especially since numerous investors have committed to reaching net-zero emissions. At the same time, they’re also discovering that digital tools can help improve occupancy in office buildings which often stand half-empty these days due to widespread remote working. It’s high time for the industry to use disruptive technology and invest in digitization to improve utilization of space and reduce carbon emissions, says a new report on ESG and digitalization in the office market by workcloud24.