Rockwell Automation, a global manufacturer and supplier of industrial automation and IT solutions, has extended its lease of warehouse and office space in Katowice. In the process of negotiating the new contract terms, the company was represented by CBRE, while the owner of the building - Aviva Investors - was advised by experts from JLL.

Blackbrook Capital, a European independent real estate investment firm focusing on mission-critical commercial property, announced the acquisition of a 100,000 sqm Class A logistics facility in Poland from GLL Real Estate Partners. The transaction price was not disclosed.

CBRE was appointed by developer Skanska to provide property management services for the Campus 6.2 and Campus 6.3 office buildings, located in the central-western area of Bucharest. The two projects total 38,000 sqm, increasing the portfolio managed by CBRE in Romania to approximately 840,000 sqm of office space and shopping centres.

CBRE launches a range of omnichannel services in Romania, for retailers who want a quick adjustment to the new market context by expanding industrial spaces. Omnichannel services have already been present for three years in the global CBRE network, mostly in the United States and the United Kingdom, and the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the synergy between retail and industrial worldwide.

The market of industrial spaces in the west of Romania, respectively in the counties of Timiș, Arad and Bihor, continues to attract the attention of investors, after doubling its volume in the last ten years, ranking second after Bucharest. CBRE recently advised pan-European developer VGP on the acquisition of a 39-ha land plot in Arad. 

Romania's real estate investment volume amounted to approx. €395 million in the first six months of 2020, a value 17% higher than the same period of the previous year, according to CBRE. Office buildings were the properties most sought after by investors, accounting for 88% of the volume traded and other similar projects are available for sale, totaling over €350 million.

Total real estate investment volume in Slovakia in H1 2020 reached €432 million which represents a 66% increase on the same period last year, according to data by CBRE. The volume was spread among ten transactions, with the average value of the deals amounting to €43 million, compared to €27 million last year.

Savills Investment Management has signed a new lease agreement involving Gate One Business Park in Warsaw. An international company dealing with data centre services has leased 21,000 sqm of the modern space at the Gate Two building. The term of the agreement is 15 years.

Polish developer Archicom has finalised the sale of the City One, the first building of the City Forum office complex in central Wrocław to an international institutional investor for €33.8 million. The name of the buyer has not been disclosed.

Nine shopping centre owners in Romania, together with CBRE, have urged the Romanian Government to reopen large shopping centres as soon as possible.