International Campus Group, a developer, investor and operator of innovative living environments for young people, has appointed Rainer Nonnengässer as Chief Executive Officer, effective January 1, 2019. The student housing and micro living expert has more than 20 years’ experience across the finance and real estate sectors. Rainer was most recently the CEO of Youniq, and previously held roles as the CEO of Micro-living at MPC Capital, which operates student apartments under the Staytoo brand, and as a Managing Director at AXA Real Estate.

Unissu.com has today launched its platform to the property industry. The business, which has classified over 6000 PropTech businesses from around the world, aims to help property professionals navigate the ongoing digital transformation of the industry. Property Forum is the exclusive regional partner for Unissu in Central & Eastern Europe – Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania.

The EBRD and Revetas, a specialist real estate investment advisor focusing on Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), are joining forces for the acquisition and development of a portfolio of prime business properties in the region. The EBRD is investing €28.6 million in Project Keystone, a portfolio of premium real estate assets located across CEE representing a total gross leasable area of over 173,000 sqm. The total asset value, including gross development value, exceeds €450 million.

Hosted by RICS in Austria, the 6th Annual RICS CEE Event, held at the British Ambassador’s Residence in Vienna, aimed to answer a number of questions related to the future of the profession and presented how RICS, a solution leader in the real estate sector, helps professionals become well-equipped to meet challenges of the 21st century.

Danish facility management company ISS plans to divest its operations in thirteen countries worldwide, including the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia and Romania.

The CEE hotel sector continues to boom, with investment levels expected to exceed €800 million by the end of 2018. This marks a slight decline compared to last year’s volumes. The primary reason for that is the lack of prime assets and portfolios on the market that could satisfy investors’ongoing appetite for hotels in key CEE cities. Institutional and listed investors are becoming more dominant, accounting for 74% of total transaction volume in 2017 and 54% in the first three quarters of 2018. The changing consumer trends and evolution of accommodation concepts over the recent years have resulted in a blurring of lines between traditional hotel classes. These are the findings of the first edition of the joint Cushman & Wakefield – CMS report on the hotel Investment scene in CEE and its underlying investment trends.

CTP announced reaching the 5 million sqm lettable milestone this month. The company has developed a portfolio of strategically located business parks over the past 20 years located throughout Central Europe with 95% occupancy, creating approximately €280 million of rental income for 2018, with over 415 tenants employing over 60,000 people in a variety of industries, manufacturing, R&D, logistics, distribution and e-commerce across 8 countries.

According to Cushman & Wakefield, commercial real estate in the first three quarters of 2018 the total investment volume in six CEE countries (Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Russia) reached €8.9 billion. Investment activity in Poland exceeded the value recorded for the whole of 2017 and is expected to reach a record high of €6 billion by the year’s end. The sustainable and solid performance was recorded in Hungary and Slovakia with volumes hitting those in 2017, whereas Russia, the Czech Republic and Romania are expected to close the year at lower investment volumes, slightly below the 2017 levels.

With reduced tolerance for risk in property acquisitions, the use of title insurance has increased. Fifteen years after its introduction, it continues to play a growing role in the CEE real estate market. Jean-Bernard Wurm, Co-Founder & Managing Director of Secure Legal Title, London talked to Property Forum about the title insurance market in CEE.

German funds have always been one of the main players on the investment market in Poland and the CEE region. However, in recent years their share in transaction volume has been decreasing. Currently, they stand at around 15% of the total value invested annually. New entrants from the USA, Asia and South Africa have increased competition for commercial property in the region. Poland and the Czech Republic are still the CEE markets of choice for German investors seeking to locate their capital in commercial real estate.