Panattoni Europe has announced investments worth €1.2 billion in city logistics projects – facilities built within city limits dedicated to the so-called “last mile”. Already today in Poland, four such parks are under development, totalling €65 million in value, and the most recent development – City Logistics Warsaw has already secured its first tenant. It is Frisco.pl – the online supermarket. In the space of 3 years, the developer will systematically pursue successive markets, including Germany, the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic.

Cromwell Property Group, has entered into a strategic partnership with Linkcity, member of Bouygues Construction, a global construction company, to invest in the rollout of a portfolio of logistics and light industrial assets in Central and Eastern Europe.

Belgrade’s real estate market continues to grow cautiously. Prime yields currently stand at 8.50% for offices, 8.00% for shopping centres and 9.75% for industrial assets, according to JLL’s Belgrade City Report for Q1 2018.

Occupier activity set an all-time high on the Polish industrial market in the first three months of 2018, which pushed the country’s vacancy rate down to its lowest on record. Demand came mostly from e-commerce (24%), logistics operators (23%) and retailers (19%). Cushman & Wakefield presented a summary of the first quarter of 2018 on the Polish warehouse and industrial market.

Prologis announced that Prologis European Logistics Fund (PELF) has acquired the 43,700 sqm Mountpark Pilsen in the Czech Republic.

Gross take-up on the Czech industrial market reached 420,300 sqm in Q1 2018., showing an increase of 41% compared to the same period of last year. The Industrial Research Forum announced the final industrial market figures for Q1 2018.

IAD Investments, the oldest independent Slovak asset management company, has acquired the Dunaharaszti industrial park next to Budapest. The acquisition of the logistics complex was made on behalf of its Prvý realitný fond, a mutual fund investing throughout Central Europe. This is the first fund acquisition made in Hungary and it means the successful entrance to the Hungarian real estate market.

So far in 2018 CBRE won the management of further 10 properties (industrial and shopping centres and an office building) in Budapest. The Budapest office now manages a 600,000 sqm portfolio in Hungary.

Prologis announced the launch of construction of Prologis Park Brno, a new logistics park in the Czech Republic, with the first speculative development of 27,860 square metres. The building is scheduled to be completed in the third quarter of 2018.

The Polish government’s bill on supporting new investments will introduce new regulations on state aid and operation of Special Economic Zones (SEZs). It is estimated that the proposed amendments will attract more than PLN 2.5 billion worth of investments in the first year of the new regulations being in force and result in 200,000 new jobs created within ten years. Michał Rafałowicz, Head of the Pomeranian Region at Cresa Poland analysed the impact of the new SEZ act.