The preliminary investment volumes for the CEE region for Q1 2020 have reached ca. €3.7 billion, despite the onset of COVID-19 in CEE at the beginning of March. This volume was significantly boosted by the ca. €1.3 billion acquisition of the Residomo portfolio in the Czech Republic by Heimstaden, however, it still represents a y-o-y growth of 68% over Q1 2019 (ca. €2.2 billion) and 28% over Q1 2018 (ca. €2.9 billion).

CBRE has announced the appointment of Katarína Brydone as Head of Investment Properties of CBRE in the Czech Republic effective 1 June 2020. Katarína Brydone succeeds Chris Sheils who spent four successful years in this position and has taken the decision to leave the business following Clare Sheils’ promotion to Managing Director of CBRE Czech Republic.

Generali Real Estate has acquired the Kotva department store in Prague for an undisclosed sum from Pražská Správa Nemovitostí (PSN) through its pan-European fund Generali Real Estate Asset Repositioning SA (GREAR).

Optimum Ventures Private Equity Fund (owned by Optima, the fund manager of the National Bank of Hungary's foundations) and an affiliate of Lone Star Funds (an American private equity firm) have entered into a conditional share purchase agreement, pursuant to which Optima will acquire a majority shareholding (61.49%) in Globe Trade Centre S.A., a Polish company trading on the Warsaw Stock Exchange and Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

Hines Poland Sustainable Income Fund (HPSIF), an investment fund managed by Hines Polska, finalised the sale of its real estate portfolio, comprising six distribution parks and the Nord Point office building, to CGL Investment Holdings Corporation Limited. Investing in commercial properties in order to increase their value and then selling them is one of Hines’ core business areas. In 2020, the company plans to expand in the Polish market.

Throughout the first quarter of 2020, the total transaction volume on the commercial real estate market in Poland exceeded €2.4 billion, according to preliminary results by Avison Young. This volume is almost three times as high as compared to the corresponding period of 2019, however, in line with Avison Young forecasts from December last year. Robust investment activity has been mainly noted in the industrial and office sectors. Asian investors dominated investment volume in terms of capital origin, with a particular focus on the industrial sector. At the same time, a growing investment activity of CEE investors is continuously observed, especially on the office market.

Colliers International launched a SEE and Baltics Infographic Pack to track the ever-changing situation across these countries and property markets.

As it was reported yesterday, the €300 million sale of NEPI Rockcastle’s Romanian office portfolio to AFI Europe has been suspended. In their separate announcements, the buyer claims that the completion of the transaction was impossible due to the COVID-19 related restrictions imposed by the authorities, while the seller insists that these restrictions did not prevent completion. The two companies have not reached a consensus on postponing the transaction’s deadline. NEPI Rockcastle has interpreted AFI Europe’s actions as a wish to cancel the acquisition and is now asking the company for a €15 million compensation.

The first online panel of Property Forum took place yesterday, where six experts discussed the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on the real estate market in CEE. Our panelists discussed who could be the biggest winners and losers of the current situation, what to expect in the logistics and retail markets and how the current spread of remote working may affect the office market and coworking operators. They also explained the possible impact of the coronavirus crisis on investments and ongoing and planned developments.

The €300 million sale of NEPI Rockcastle’s Romanian office portfolio to AFI Europe has been suspended due to the coronavirus crisis, Profit.ro reports.