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.

CTP raised €500 million with their third green bond issue on 18 February 2021, increasing the total raised from Green Bonds to €1.55 billion since their inaugural issuance in September 2020.

Penta Real Estate has started the construction of the Masaryčka by Zaha Hadid project in the centre of Prague, the company announced.

There is currently a shortage of industrial and logistics space on the Czech market, in addition to a lack of land suitable for their construction. This is mainly due to growing demand and the fact that local governments aren’t motivated by tax benefits to allow their construction. The situation is most evident in the vicinity of large cities, and also affects the growth of rent levels. Moreover, it has also caused a new trend in the form of the extension of rent contracts. The first new projects of over 20,000 sqm can only be expected in the second half of 2022. 

Accolade and Panattoni are continuing the extensive revitalization of a former settling reservoir in a sugar factory near Kojetín in the Olomouc region. The CZK 3 billion industrial complex, designed and constructed aligned with the latest trends in e-commerce and targeting future local and foreign tenants, will be completed by the end of the year 2022.

CBRE has selected large plots of land suitable for industrial construction with a total area of ​​250,000 sqm in a strategic location right next to the D11 motorway near Hradec Králové and mediated their sale. In cooperation with Panattoni, a new logistics centre for a major retail player (also represented by CBRE) with an area of ​​50,000 sqm will soon be built here. Up to 900 jobs will be created in the region in the future.