High inflation and rising interest rates pose a threat to the upturn in the economy which many expected following the pandemic. Dieter Knittel, Managing Director, Head of CEE at Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG (pbb) talked to Property Forum about financing trends and shared his expectations for the upcoming period.

Helaba is providing long-term financing for Czech project developer Crestyl for the revitalisation of the well-known NR7 office building in a prime downtown location in Prague.

7R has obtained financing for expanding the modern logistics complex 7R Park Lublin. The loan agreement has been signed with a syndicate of banks – Santander Bank Polska and mBank. Ultimately, the park will consist of five buildings with a total GLA of nearly 110,000 sqm. Bremer is the General Contractor of the project responsible for the work.

Monia Dobrescu, Partner, Mușat & Asociații spoke to Property Forum about the financing environment for the real estate sector in the context of the crisis in Ukraine and the law firm’s development plans for this year. The uniform application of the regulatory acts in the field is an issue that has an impact on players in the real estate market, and progress is being made in this area, Monia adds.

To be a small and dynamic company, which makes decisions quickly based on consensus and its own analysis and reasoning. These are the secrets to being the most active investor in Prague even in the past two difficult years, according to Českomoravská Nemovitostní (ČMN’s) new CEO, Karel Bor, who talked to Property Forum about the company’s investment strategy.

Banks are happy to finance practically any new logistics project. But they are extremely cautious with the office and retail segments, not to mention hotel investments. Property Forum asked Tamás Deák, Director of Commercial Real Estate Finance at Erste Bank Hungary Zrt. about their financing practices amid the new, harsh economic conditions.

Despite the turbulent economic situation, banks are readily lending money to the commercial real estate segment, with warehouses being their top choice. The industrial investor Accolade is one of the most willingly financed warehouse portfolio holders in Poland. The company benefits from over €500 million in bank loans, 40% of which has been acquired since February 2020. At the same time, in the Czech Republic, the company has signed a loan agreement with a club of banks for €137.5 million. It is the largest ever loan provided for a single industrial rental property in the CEE region.

The asset management arm of Hungarian developer Market Group has signed a €65 million loan agreement with Raiffeisen Bank to finance a huge mixed-use project in a prestigious district of Budapest, not far from the embankment of the river Danube. A Class A office complex and a boutique hotel offering 127 rooms will be completed by 2023. 

Hungarian developer Futureal has signed a loan agreement worth €79.5 million with UniCredit Bank to finance the construction and long-term operation of the Corvin Innovation Campus office complex in Budapest. 

Hungary-based developer Alfa Group has decided to cancel the bond auction within the Hungarian NKP framework in Q1 due to increased interest rates. As the main reason for bond issuance was the need for a financing development pipeline, an alternative source of financing with attractive commercial terms was considered better.