Looking at what is going on in world politics, TriGranit’s CEO finds it difficult to comprehend why many still stress the political risk factor when talking about the Central European real estate market. He’s optimistic about the future and expects further diminishing returns on investment, along with new investors appearing in Budapest. Árpád Török talked to us about plans for developing TriGranit and the future of the real estate market.

Immofinanz AG has announced a change in the preliminary timetable for the intended merger with CA Immobilien Anlagen AG. The reason is the planned divestment of Immofinanz’s Russian property portfolio, which is a condition for the merger of the two companies. The Executive Board and Supervisory Board of Immofinanz today decided to schedule a longer period than originally considered for the process to separate the Russian properties. The recent stabilisation of the economy in Russia has contributed to this decision. 

Immofinanz has announced the sale of a smaller Austrian retail portfolio to an Austrian real estate investor and, with this transaction, continues its strategic withdrawal from properties that are not part of the core business. The portfolio covers 88 properties with approx. 108,000 sqm of rentable space in eight Austrian provinces. The parties to the transaction have agreed not to disclose any information on the purchase price. The closing will take place in several steps through the end of 2017. 

NEPI and Rockcastle have announced that the two companies will effectively be merged in a new entity, NEPI Rockcastle, to be implemented with reference to an effective share swap ratio of 4.5 existing Rockcastle shares for every 1 existing NEPI share. Alexandru Morar and Spiro Noussis, the current chief executive officers of NEPI and Rockcastle, respectively, will be appointed joint chief executive officers of NEPI Rockcastle, with Dan Pascariu appointed as independent non-executive chairman. The merged entity is expected to become the largest listed real estate player in CEE.

EY has established a dedicated Real Estate & Hospitality Advisory team based in Prague covering the Czech Republic and the Central Eastern European region. The team will focus on the areas of Corporate Strategic Advisory, Capital Markets, Valuations, Commercial Due Diligence as well as Capital Raising combining traditional property services with business, financial and legal advisory.

2016 brought about yet another turnaround on the Hungarian commercial property market. Real estate professionals from the country and all over CEE came together in Budapest at Property Investment Forum 2016, organised by Portfolio. The biggest and most important event of the Hungarian real estate market was held for the 12th time this year, attracting over 700 visitors and nearly 100 speakers.

Hotel investment activity in CEE – from the Adriatic Coast to the Baltic Sea – has been booming in the second half of 2016, with numerous hotel properties being on the market and several transactions taking place, as hotel property specialist Christie & Co reports.

General optimism, attractive investment opportunities and more capital characterises the Central and Eastern European property market that is now considered a favourable investment destination by international investors. The second Emerging Europe Property Forum, co-organised by Portfolio Property Forum and RICS, took place on 8 November at the RICS HQ in London. 

According to Cushman & Wakefield, commercial real estate investment activity in the core Central European markets of Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania reached €6.05 billion in the first three quarters of 2016, a 37% increase y-o-y, albeit with reduced activity during the third quarter. Investment in the CE region slipped back following a strong second quarter. The volume of assets traded totalled €1.4bn in Q3 2016, down over 20% a year ago and half Q2 volumes.

P3 Logistic Parks, a pan-European owner, developer and manager of logistics properties, announced that GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire P3 from TPG Real Estate and its partner Ivanhoé Cambridge. The transaction values the business at €2.4 billion and is the largest European real estate transaction this year. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close by the end of 2016.