For Vienna-based investor GalCap Europe, last year was a busy one with three additional deals closed compared to 2019. Managing Partner Paul W. Hallam talked to Property Forum about the experiences of last year and shared the company’s investment strategy for 2021.

COVID-19 has had a great impact on the economy as well as consumers’ behaviour, which has naturally influenced the property market. Pandemic unexpectedly accelerated changes noticed for the last few years, such as the diminishing role of traditional shopping centres in favour of convenience retail, the boom of e-commerce market or working from home. According to Avison Young, investors have quickly accommodated to new conditions and even despite many uncertainties, investment volume has achieved third-highest level in the history – €5.3 billion.

Savills top picks for value-add investors this year are logistics developments in undersupplied markets such as the Nordics and Spain, short-term income sectors such as flexible offices and student housing, which are likely to recover in the second half of this year, and multifamily developments in markets with rising demand for rental such as Southern and Eastern Europe.

The COVID-19 pandemic has left hardly any business or industry untouched and retail real estate industry has also been affected. The last twelve months were marked by three lockdowns that helped change the shopping habits of Poles, lower developer activity, and increase the popularity of smaller retail formats, JLL analysts say.

Although the retail segment is among those affected the most by the coronavirus crisis, this does not show in the number of brands newly incoming to the Czech market. Whereas 24 new brands came to the country in 2019, in the crisis year 2020 there were 25. This year, the number of newcomer brands could be even higher – some brands postponed opening their shops to 2021 due to the corona crisis., according to a report by Cushman & Wakefield.

For Germany-based real estate investor and developer Trei Real Estate, 2020 was a successful year thanks to the fact its portfolio mostly includes assets that were hardly affected by the pandemic. Pepijn Morshuis, CEO of Trei Real Estate talked to Property Forum about the experiences gained during 2020, changing financing conditions and the company’s plans for 2021.

The effects of COVID-19 have caused an acceleration in foodservice trends which are set to continue long after the pandemic has been brought under control, according to a new report by Coverpoint Foodservice Consulting.

The stable 2021 outlook for sovereigns in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) reflects their robust economic growth prospects and strengthened ability to carry and reduce debt, which make their credit profiles resilient to the sharp deterioration of their public finances in 2020, Moody's Investors Service said in a report published today. Ageing populations and structural economic change will remain longer-term challenges for the region.

The changing structure of demand for offices, and the increasing amount of space aimed at subtenants, raises the question of whether the office sector in Poland is facing the imminent prospect of oversupply.

A survey prepared by Cushman & Wakefield in partnership with FIHR, targeting Romanian hoteliers, was launched in November 2020 to understand the impact of COVID-19 on the Romanian hotel industry and their perspectives on the outlook of this sector. This survey is the second instalment after a previous questionnaire that was launched in April 2020. The intention is to gain the appropriate attention and appeal to authorities for more meaningful and targeted support towards our hospitality sector. Cushman & Wakefield and FIHR remain committed to ensuring that the industry receives appropriate support by collecting and analysing available data and appealing to authorities.