Prosperity on the office market in Lesser Poland’s capital continues, as is evident from the number of new schemes delivered to the market and those under construction and in the pipeline as well as the volume of transactions completed. Experts at BNP Paribas Real Estate Poland highlight that the market dynamics are not to any significant degree affecting rents or the vacancy rate which remain at a stable level.

HBK, asset manager of Direkt Invest Polen fund, finalised the sales transaction of a retail portfolio, comprising seven existing properties as well as development lands for new projects. Master Management Group became new owner of the portfolio. The total value of the transaction is approximately €60 million.

The significant increase in interest from international investors looking for the best formats of cooperation with local developers sends a powerful message to the market in Romania’s capital city. Importantly, the abovementioned interest applies not only to the office sector, but also to the retail and logistics ones.

BNP Paribas Real Estate Poland acting as the exclusive agent commenced the process of recommercialisation of the Class A office space in the Diamante Plaza building in Kraków on behalf of the building’s owner, Aldesa, a leading Spanish construction company.

In the first half of 2017 the warehouse market was unquestionably the fastest growing commercial property sector in Poland. The highest volume of industrial and warehouse space was delivered to the market around Poznań, i.e. 133,000 sqm, while the largest scheme of 161,000 sqm is currently under construction in Szczecin. The record numbers in respect of the schemes delivered to the market are not discouraging developers from commencing new projects.

The new office and retail scheme located at Wronia 31 has as of 1 July joined the portfolio of properties managed by BNP Paribas Real Estate Poland. The property with the total leasable area of approx. 16,000 sqm is located in Wola’s heart in the direct vicinity of Plac Europejski. Ghelamco is the investor and developer responsible for the scheme.

Investor appetite on the Polish real estate market in Q2 2017 has translated into high transaction volumes which stood at approximately €1 billion. The retail sector accounted for 80% market share of capital invested in Q2, mainly resulting from large portfolio acquisitions. If pending deals conclude, the year-end result should be close to €4.2-4.4 billion, which would be similar to the record of 2016.

Calioppe Investments has acquired the scheme from Rank Progress, a Warsaw Stock Exchange listed company engaged in the property investment and development sector. The total value of the transaction amounts to €26.7 million including €15.2 million of debt financing. The seller has been advised by BNP Paribas Real Estate.

Poland’s industrial and warehouse sector recorded the strongest first quarter in its history. Schemes with the total area of 592,000 sqm were delivered to the market between January and the end of March, which represents as much as 45% of the total volume of 2016. BNP Paribas Real Estate highlights that the invariable driving force behind the market’s growth for the past several quarters have been businesses from the e-commerce sector.

From the beginning of April, BNP Paribas Real Estate Poland will take over the management of four IKEA Centers retail parks located in Poland on behalf of the landlord Pradera. The contract will increase the Polish portfolio of managed properties by more than 140,000 sqm. Ultimately, the international property management business line of BNP Paribas Real Estate will manage 25 properties in eight European countries.