The volume of new real estate investments in Romania amounted to €98 million in the first quarter of 2021, driven by the office and industrial segments. The investments were down 19% compared to the same period of 2020, according to a report by CBRE. 

Companies from the logistics, retail and production sectors agree that the economic environment this year is more challenging than the year before, according to the CBRE Confidence Index. However, industries have different views on the future. Already 9 out of 10 logistics companies believe that their turnover will increase or remain unchanged in the next 12 months. In retail and production, this opinion is shared by 60% of companies. Conversely, when it comes to the conditions of running a business in the coming months, companies in the logistics sector have greater concerns. Only 28% of logistics operators anticipate an improvement, while for companies involved with retail and production, the comparable figure is 36%.

French BIC Group, the maker of stationery, lighters and shavers, is reportedly looking to open a regional distribution centre near Bucharest, according to profit.ro.   

The retail park format was gaining ground before the pandemic and continues to grow despite it. Over the past 20 years, the share of retail parks in the entire pool of shopping facilities in the country has increased from 6% to 15% and now they occupy approximately 1.97 million sqm, according to CBRE data. Retail parks remain popular among investors, confirming their strong position, even in times of a pandemic. Their popularity is underpinned by their locality, concentration of stores providing basic needs in one place and a smaller number of customer contact points than in large centres. According to CBRE experts, the current trends indicate that by 2030 retail parks may constitute 28% of all shopping space in Poland.

CBRE has been mandated to manage the industrial portfolio of Cromwell European Real Estate Trust (CEREIT) in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

The modern stock of industrial space in Romania will reach approximately 5,5 million sqm this year, according to CBRE Romania.  At the national level, approximately 400,000 sqm of industrial spaces are currently under construction, an area of ​​over 60% being already pre-leased

The industrial segment has stood out as the most resilient sector to the crisis and the markets Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia and Bulgaria present a huge opportunity for further growth. Boško Tomašević MRICS, Managing Director SEE at CBRE talked to Property Forum about investment market expectations and shared the company’s expansion plans for the Balkans region.

CBRE Romania announced it recruited Mihai Patrulescu from Colliers International to lead the Investment Properties department.

CBRE has selected large plots of land suitable for industrial construction with a total area of ​​250,000 sqm in a strategic location right next to the D11 motorway near Hradec Králové and mediated their sale. In cooperation with Panattoni, a new logistics centre for a major retail player (also represented by CBRE) with an area of ​​50,000 sqm will soon be built here. Up to 900 jobs will be created in the region in the future.

The total investment volume achieved in 2020 in the SEE region amounted to €766 million representing a 17% decline in transaction volume in comparison to the year before, according to CBRE’s market report summarising H2 2020 on the investment market.