Real estate investment manager Garbe Institutional Capital, headquartered in Hamburg (Germany), is expanding into Central and Eastern Europe. Managing and developing retail, office and residential real estate assets, the company will initially focus on the Polish and Czech markets. With its commitment to the CEE region, Garbe Institutional Capital provides German institutional investors with access to high-quality real estate investments in economically prospering metropolitan areas in the eastern part of the European Union. The new CEE business is based in Prague and headed by Ben Maudling as Managing Director, Head of CEE.

The Arete Group of investment funds completed the entire transaction and transferred ownership of the complete portfolio of the Arete Invest CEE II subfund in the amount of €113.2 million (CZK 3 billion) to Cromwell European REIT (CEREIT) a publicly-traded real estate investment trust listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange.

Modern industrial stock in the Czech Republic grew by 314,800 sqm in H2 2020, indicating a mild (7%) decline in construction activity compared to H1. The total industrial inventory intended for lease according to the latest Savills report totalled 9.11 million sqm and 62% of the total inventory was held within the three largest submarkets of Prague (3.21 million sqm), the Pilsen region (1.33 million sqm) and the South Moravia region  (1.15 million sqm).

Czech developer Contera has started the construction of a logistics complex in Hrušov on the site of a former brownfield. One of the main tenants of Contera Park Ostrava D1 will be sporting goods retailer Sportisimo. The company’s new logistics headquarters will have a clear height of up to 23 meters, automated systems and cooling, and will be one of the largest in the country with an area of 90,000 sqm.

Commercial property investment volume in the Czech Republic amounted to €797 million in H2 2020 with 60% of the H2 transaction volume (i.e. €478 million) being for properties located in Prague, according to Savills research.

The Q4 2020 results of the RICS Global Commercial Property Monitor continue to point to a challenging backdrop across Europe. Both the office and retail sectors remain under significant pressure, with demand still falling sharply amid the difficult economic climate induced by the pandemic. On a brighter note, supported by structural tailwinds, the industrial sector continues to defy this downbeat overall assessment, prompting respondents to upgrade expectations for rental and capital value growth.

Accolade published its results for 2020. Last year saw the expansion of the portfolio area by 30%, almost 400 new qualified investors and a year-on-year return of 10,02%. The biggest industrial real estate fund in the Czech Republic now owns a total of 16 industrial parks in the Czech Republic, Poland, and Germany with an area of 936,304 sqm.1,200 investors benefit from the rental income which was increased by 35%, in 2020.

Czech industrial developer Demaco obtained a planning permit for the construction of an industrial hall of 18,245 sqm of a built-up area in the DMC Kvasiny industrial park. This is the largest permitted hall ready for construction near the Škoda Auto plant in Kvasiny, where the successful Superb, Kodiaq and Karoq models are produced.

Czech-based development group Horizon has announced that the sale of the second stage of Rezidence Čámovka is now complete. Despite much of the sales period being accompanied by pandemic-related uncertainty, all 148 flats in Prague's Čimice have already been secured by new owners. Commissioning for the five buildings in which they are located is scheduled for October this year.

Cornerstone Partners, a corporate and real estate private equity investment manager, together with Crestyl Group, a Czech leader in developing multi-purpose real estate projects, have entered into a contract to buy Polish residential developer Budimex Nieruchomości. Other partners participating in the deal include blue-chip financial investors. The conclusion of the transaction is subject to approval from Poland's Anti-Monopoly Office.