The industrial segment has stood out as the most resilient sector to the crisis and the markets Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia and Bulgaria present a huge opportunity for further growth. Boško Tomašević MRICS, Managing Director SEE at CBRE talked to Property Forum about investment market expectations and shared the company’s expansion plans for the Balkans region.

The total investment volume achieved in 2020 in the SEE region amounted to €766 million representing a 17% decline in transaction volume in comparison to the year before, according to CBRE’s market report summarising H2 2020 on the investment market.

Slovenia-based investor ALFI Real Estate fund has completed the acquisition of a new retail park based in Poreč, Croatia (Galerija Poreč). The property with roughly 8,500 sqm was purchased from specialist Austrian investor MID Group. The retail park is strategically positioned in a new shopping zone near a McDonald’s restaurant and has an attractive tenant mix with everyday convenience items.

Immofinanz is continuing the expansion of its Stop Shop retail park brand, as announced, and has added eight locations to the portfolio shortly before the end of the year. Six fully rented retail parks in Serbia and the Czech Republic with roughly 43,000 sqm were purchased from Mitiska REIM, a Belgian investor specialised in these types of commercial properties. In addition, Immofinanz closed the purchase of a fully rented retail park (approx. 5,500 sqm) in Voitsberg, Austria, during the fourth quarter of 2020. The portfolio in Croatia will be increased by one property in the city of Ludbreg.

Demand in the third quarter of the year picked up Zagreb’s office market compensating for the slow market activity observed in the second quarter of 2020. Cushman & Wakefield | CBS International Croatia published its Q3 2020 report for the Zagreb office market.

Croatia's AZ pension funds have acquired 99.9% of local real estate company M7 Primo for €21 million (HRK 161 million) via a capital increase ahead of M7 Primo's planned listing next year.

GTC has expanded its portfolio of green projects. The Matrix A and Matrix B office buildings in Zagreb have both been granted LEED Platinum certifications. Thus, 80% of all GTC’s office properties now bear an eco-friendly label. 

It’s at last becoming possible to assess the consequences for Croatia’s construction sector of the country’s July 2020 elections. Jockeying for governmental positions, COVID-19- and tourism-season-related priorities and other pressing matters prevented the new Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) led government from moving on its larger agenda until recently. Now, though, the political picture, and the impact of the elections on Croatia’s construction sector, is getting clearer, according to a report by the Eastern European Construction Forecasting Association.

CA Immo has signed and closed the sale of the Zagreb Tower office building to Austrian property company S Immo AG at a 5% premium to H1 2020 book value.

Supernova Group has opened its fifteenth shopping centre in Croatia in the town of Požega, following an investment of €16 million. The 11,000 sqm retail park includes 16 stores and a restaurant.