Echo Investment – a Polish developer – and Echo Polska Properties – an international fund operating as a REIT - signed agreements to jointly buy and jointly develop a real property at ul. Towarowa 22 in Warsaw from Griffin Real Estate, a Polish private equity fund. The buyers will pay €120 million for the property – €78 million upon signing the agreement, while the remaining amount will be paid after certain planning conditions are met.

Futureal Group has announced that their latest retail development in Budapest, Etele Plaza is now in negotiations with a number of anchor tenants and they are hoping to confirm the first brands by end of Q1 2017. Located in the south-western part of Budapest, Etele Plaza is expected to attract up to 40,000 shoppers a day. This will be the first large-scale retail development in the Hungarian capital since the opening of Árkád 2 in 2013.

Skanska has laid the cornerstone for its third Kraków office project, High5ive. In the first phase of the project two buildings will be constructed by Q4 2017 with a GLA of 23,500 sqm. Upon completion the entire complex will offer 70,000 sqm of leasable space. 

In the last quarter alone South African investors have spent €1 billion in CEE and it is most likely that they won’t stop chasing higher yields anytime soon. Even though investments in Central and Eastern Europe are generally considered risky by European standards, coming from other parts of the world opportunities in the region may seem rather safe. We report from CEE Property Forum 2016, co-organised by Portfolio Property Forum and RICS, where over 300 visitors and 70 speakers came together to discuss the most pressing issues concerning regional investment markets.

The European industrial and logistics investment market experienced a record breaking H1 investment volume this year, despite a slower Q2. In Hungary, the vacancy rate slipped to 6.6%, and developers’ activity is on the rise according to the latest research data of CBRE.

Prologis has begun the development of an 11,720 sqm speculative distribution facility at Prologis Park Prague-Airport in response to high customer demand, which has resulted in the park being fully let.

Panattoni Europe has announced the lease of three warehouse facilities totalling 42,526 sqm by Raben Logistics Polska. The investment will be carried out at Panattoni Park Grodzisk III. The developer has also recently started the construction of a BTS logistics centre for Sanden Manufacturing Poland in Polkowice, comprising approx. 6,500 sqm.

Ericsson’s new Hungarian headquarters are being built on a site overlooking the Danube by Wing Zrt. This investment is the first phase of the Hungarian Nobel Prize Winners Research & Development Park. The building, which has a total area of 24,000 square meters, will house the company’s largest research and development facility outside Sweden. The building will be constructed to the strict standards of the LEED Gold environmental awareness rating. 

At the end of H1 2016, Poland’s office stock totalled 8.7 million sqm. Warsaw remains the largest office market with Kraków, Wrocław and Tricity becoming major regional office hubs. Nearly 572,000 sqm of modern office space was delivered onto the Polish market in H1 2016, setting a new semi-annual record. Cushman & Wakefield its newest report, Property Times: Office Market In A Growth Phase.

Skanska has laid the cornerstone under its fifth office development in Wrocław, Green2Day. The 17,000 sqm building is scheduled for completion in Q3 2017.