Ivan Lokere, CEO of Alinso Group, talked to Property Forum about the company’s expansion plans on the Romanian industrial market, the increase in occupancy rates for its local portfolio and the ongoing investments in infrastructure that will open new demand drivers for the market in the years to come.

CTP has unveiled plans to invest €600 million in the coming years to double its portfolio to 20 million sqm by 2030.

Industrial developer CTP has recorded a net income of €130.7 million in the first quarter of 2023, up 21.9% year-on-year, while the like-for-like rental growth stood at 7.8%, mainly driven by indexation and reversion on renegotiations and expiring leases. The company’s profit for Q1 2023 was €225.4 million which is 274% above the figure for Q1 2022 (€60.2 million).

The Czech industrial and logistics market reached the 11 million sqm mark at the end of the first quarter of 2023. It has grown by more than 1 million sqm over the past 12 months. During Q1 2023, a total of 217,900 sqm of new industrial space was completed, representing an increase of 25 % quarter-on-quarter (Q4 2022 vs. Q1 2023). Approximately 1.23 million sqm of industrial space is currently under construction, 34 % of which is being built on a speculative basis. Despite the high volume of new completions, the vacancy rate remains low, at the level of 1.4 %, JLL reports.

Panattoni has finalized the sale of a 33,000 sqm logistics centre in Uniejów, developed on a build-to-suit (BTS) basis. LCN Capital Partners has acquired its fourth facility within the K-Flex manufacturing campus from Panattoni. The price has not been disclosed.

Panattoni has been granted financing for Panattoni Park Lublin II with an area of around 84,000 sqm. The €48 million loan was granted by Bank Pekao SA.

In Q1 2023, the Greater Budapest speculative stock increased by five buildings, totalling 111,330 sqm, while in regional Hungary, four new buildings were handed over, totalling 45,835 sqm. As a result, the vacancy rate has risen sharply from 3.8 to 5.9%, Budapest Research Forum (BRF) reports.

Panattoni sees continuing interest from investors: in the first quarter of the year the company completed transactions in Poland worth a combined total of over €300 million. The developer's activity has spawned the need for a new position - Head of Asset Disposition - which has been filled by Michal Stanisławski.

Industrial properties in the Czech Republic are still very full. The vacancy rate in Prague and its surroundings alone is almost zero for the second year. Rents are also rising, with some locations seeing an increase of almost 100% compared to their original terms, according to the latest report on the Czech industrial property market from companies associated with the Industrial Research Forum.

CTP is contributing to the carbon neutrality of the warehouses of CTPark Prague North with the use of trapezoidal sheets made of XCarb ‘green’ steel, manufactured by Arcelor Mittal. It will be added to the entire roof area of a warehouse designated D8.7B with a total area of 32,000 sqm. This resulted in a saving of 835 tonnes of CO2, the equivalent of 348 people living without a car for 1 year.