ČS Real Estate fund, the largest and oldest Czech open-ended property fund, managed by REICO, has announced its intention to expand its acquisition programme to Poland and Hungary. 

2017 will deliver only 17,000 sqm of new space to the Brno office market. When considering the size of the market, together with Budapest, this is the lowest increment of new offices in Central and Eastern Europe – 3.3%. A lack of new office space may cause rental prices to increase. These figures are based on an analysis made by Cushman & Wakefield, which compares the office markets across 12 cities in Central Europe.

Colliers International announced that Luke Dawson has returned to Colliers International, effective immediately, in the role of Managing Director & Head of Capital Markets for Central & Eastern Europe (CEE).

Savills has appointed Ben Maudling to head up its Czech Republic and Slovakia operations, in order to support the company’s continued expansion across Central Eastern Europe (CEE). 

P3 has completed the first two warehouses at P3 Prague D11, developed partly on a Build-to-Suit basis for Exiteria and FM Logistic, comprising a total of 60,000 sqm. The warehouses are among the largest buildings planned for the park and account for over a third of its total size.  The rest of the site can accommodate eight further warehouses ranging from 3,000 sqm to 26,000 sqm. After completion, P3 Prague D11 will provide a total of 155,000 sqm.

Warimpex announced the partial sale of its hotel portfolio to Thai investor U City Public Company Limited (U City). The transaction includes eight hotel participations – two of which are partially (50 per cent) owned by UBM Development AG (UBM) – which comprise approximately 50 percent of Warimpex's total real estate assets and which have a property value of approximately €180 million (excluding the stakes of UBM in that portfolio). 

The amount of industrial space leased in key Central and Eastern European markets in 2016 was the largest ever recorded, totalling 5.7 million sqm. This represents a 25% increase over the preceding two years when about 4.5 million sqm was leased. The strong take-up among tenants was linked with an extensive new development at 2.2 million sqm. The findings are based on the research conducted by Cushman & Wakefield, which has been monitoring the industrial property market in the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia over an extended period.

Skanska Property Czech Republic is expanding its portfolio by completing the acquisition of a plot with a former car repair shop from M2 Real Estate Group, located in the Karlín area of Prague. Skanska plans to build a modern office building called Praga Studios on the property.

Peakside Capital has completed the acquisition of Argo Alpha, a Prague office building comprising 12,600 sqm of GLA. The transaction price has not been disclosed. 

Occupier and investment sentiment continues to be positive across Central and Eastern Europe according to the RICS Commercial Property Monitor for Q4 2016. Hungary and the Czech Republic remain the most upbeat markets, with Bulgaria and Croatia also gaining momentum. In Romania the pace of growth seems to be slowing down, although sentiment and projections continue to be broadly positive.