Low interest rates and high inflation continue to drive demand for investment properties with the residential asset class remaining highly popular. As more and more private individuals, family offices and trusts are diversifying their portfolios, Arnold Investments has greatly expanded their commercial property segment. Investments in critical retail properties, logistics and offices are currently interesting, but hotels are also performing surprisingly well. Multinational brokerage firm Arnold Investments, which supported almost 100 transactions in 2021, summarised key investment market trends in Austria and other regional countries.

There is scepticism in the market regarding the correlation between sustainability and financial performance but it is beneficial to be sustainable if you consider the overall life-cycle of the building, explains Oana Stamatin, ESG Chief Officer | CEE & Romania at Colliers. She talked to Property Forum about the challenges and opportunities owners of real estate face in striving for ESG compliance. 

With the ending of the acceptance period of its takeover offer for Immofinanz, CPI Property Group announced that it will soon hold at least 53.33% of Immofinanz’s share capital and voting rights.

Maxim Shkolnick, General Partner at CEE-based retail investor Focus Estate Fund talked to Property Forum about recent acquisitions in Poland, the Covid-driven evolution of the retail market and the astonishing popularity of convenience centres among investment funds.

Earlier this week, Prague Mayor Zdeněk Hřib and Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski visited the Ukrainian capital and invited Kyiv to join the Pact of Free Cities. Founded in 2019 by the mayors of Bratislava, Budapest, Warsaw, and Prague, the pact aims to strengthen the values of freedom, dignity, democracy, and the rule of law.

The Executive Board and Supervisory Board of Immofinanz have issued supplementary statements on the announcement by CPI Property Group SA (CPIPG) of the increase in the offer price to €23.00 per share (cum dividend) and increase in CPIPG’s investment in Immofinanz to roughly 48.18% through the purchase of shares from S Immo AG. The Executive Board and Supervisory Board still view the improved offer price as too low given the successful development of Immofinanz and the current value of the company. Moreover, the offer price does not include an appropriate control premium in connection with CPIPG’s intention to attain control over Immofinanz.

Karol Pilniewicz, Chief Investment Officer of Futureal Investment Partners talked to Property Forum about entering the investment market, the condition of the retail sector after two years of pandemic restrictions and current financing conditions.

CEE-based flex workspace provider New Work is introducing a new “Space in the Cloud” service which not only helps new and existing tenants save money but allows them to manage their workforce in a more flexible and ESG-compliant way.

Czech businessman Radovan Vítek has amassed a fortune estimated at around €4.1 billion while increasing his influence in the European property sector. Vítek holds firm control of CPI Property Group, the company he founded with assets topping €11 billion and has gradually built majority stakes in Globalworth and Immofinanz, both competing groups in Central and Eastern Europe. By purchasing controlling participations in these companies, Vítek could build his property investment empire across CEE to the tune of around €20 billion and 7 million sqm of developed space, covering every country and asset class in the region. This story is a prime example of the rise and strength of local capital in CEE, in addition to the gradual decline of influence held by Austrian companies over the region.

A large share of real estate professionals globally no longer view office space as being essential for a company to operate successfully. At the same time, increasing demand for flexible workplaces is evident and office space is being repurposed for other uses more and more frequently, according to the RICS Global Commercial Property Monitor for Q4 2021.