BentallGreenOak, a leading global real estate investment management advisor and provider of real estate services, has announced the acquisition of a logistics park comprising three well-located, high-quality warehouses in Gdańsk, Poland. This marks the firm’s first investment in the Polish market, as it continues to expand its presence across Europe.

According to Savills, the development pipeline for the Czech industrial market reached the highest level in history in Q1 2021. There were 47 industrial buildings in various stages of construction with a total rentable area of 734,200 sqm across the country. Speculative projects represented 36% of this construction pipeline, which was well below the 10-quarter average of 46%.

Developer Warehousing & Logistics EOOD (W&L) has begun the construction of the newest industrial park in Bulgaria, called Logistics Park Sofia (LPS). The park is located about 8 km from the capital Sofia. W&L is planning to build 4 warehouse buildings in the complex which will span more than 116,000 sqm of industrial and office space that will be available to potential tenants. So far this is the first Bulgarian logistics park with such a high concentration of industrial space.

Hungarian developer Infogroup has closed a successful bond issue as part of the National Bank of Hungary's (MNB) Bond Funding for Growth Scheme. During the rating procedure, the group was assigned BB- and the bond was rated BB. The funds raised through the bond issue will be used to carry out industrial property projects.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, warehouse take-up hit a record high of 1.6 million sqm, reveals an industrial market summary for Q1 2021 released by global real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield. The strongest leasing activity was reported in Poznań, the Warsaw area, Upper Silesia and Central Poland.

Agricultural products maker Corteva has pre-leased around 23,000 sqm of industrial space in a built-to-suit warehouse located in northeastern Bucharest. 

Knauf Industries Polska, the world’s leading polystyrene processor, has renegotiated its lease agreement and increased its warehouse and office space in Panattoni Park Wrocław II to 18,000 sqm. The tenant was represented during the negotiation process by real estate advisory firm Cresa.

The pandemic has caused a lot of change on the market but these changes can easily be viewed as an opportunity for further growth as Jonathan Hallett, Head of Central & Eastern Europe at Cushman & Wakefield demonstrates. He talked to Property Forum about the results of the last year and shared his expectations for the future of work and the CEE advisory market.

The first quarter of 2021 saw record low vacancies in the greater Prague region, affirming consistent high interest in industrial premises in premium locations. High demand is pushing lease prices upwards, with lease prices having grown by 25 % per sqm year-on-year within the Prague cadastral district, for example. The Czech industrial real estate market is being impeded by drawn-out approval processes and a lack of new options in areas with the greatest demand.

Hungarian state-owned NIPÜF Group has completed another sales transaction with the sale of a nearly 3 ha plot in the Inpark Martonvásár industrial park, located southwest of Budapest. A Hungarian chemical company will build a 4,000 sqm production hall on the property by 2022.