Invesco Real Estate (IRE), a global real estate investment manager, has acquired the 232-room Sheraton Grand Hotel Krakow for €70 million on behalf of one of its UK pension fund separate account clients. The seller was hotel investor Algonquin.

The investment volume achieved in 2016 totalled almost €1.2 billion with 46 transactions recorded in core CEE hotel investment markets. In comparison, 2015 reached just over €700 million with 45 transactions. Austria was the star performer with almost €800 million transacted, which made up 67% of the total investment volume. In other CEE markets volume was lower than in 2015 with a particular decline in Poland which more than halved in volume. The Czech Republic accounted for 18% of total CEE investment share; most of the investment took place in Prague which saw 7 transactions including the Hilton Old Town, Park Hotel and Chopin Hotel.

According to Christie & Co's recent hotel market snapshot, Bucharest is an emerging market for hotel investments. While the city's hotel market may yet to fully recover from the financial crisis, it has made tremendous progress in recent years, reporting upward trends in key performance indicators and growing investor interest.

The Rezidor Hotel Group, a member of international Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, has announced the signing of the first Radisson RED in the Central Europe. The newly built Radisson RED Krakow is expected to be completed by fall of 2019.

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). 

Orbis has concluded a preliminary agreement for the sale of two Polish hotels, Mercure Jelenia Góra and Mercure Karpacz Resort for a total net price of app. €6.1 million (PLN26.5 million) to an individual investor.

In accordance with its development strategy, Orbis Group enters Bosnia and Herzegovina with signature of a franchise agreement for MGallery by Sofitel Tarcin Forest Resort & Spa in Sarajevo region, Bosnia. The investor of the hotel is Tarcin International Development Company d.o.o. 

In most Central and Eastern European countries the commercial property market is heavily concentrated in the capital city and modern offices in secondary or tertiary cities are virtually non-existent. Luckily, that is not the case in the Czech Republic, where there are cities outside of Prague, most notably Brno, that offer attractive opportunities for international companies. Czech-based developer CTP invited us for the opening ceremony of the new Courtyard by Marriott hotel and showed us the city’s property market.

Deutsche Hospitality’s first hotel CEE hotel is set to open in by 2019. IntercityHotel Budapest will be located in a newly constructed building in forint of the City’s Eastern Railway Station (Keleti pályaudvar). It will have 300 rooms, a restaurant, a bar, a conference area and an underground car park with 200 spaces. 

Hilton has reached a franchise agreement with Accent Hotel Management to open Hilton Garden Inn Budapest City Centre. The 214-guestroom hotel is set to become Hilton’s third hotel in Budapest by 2018.