Following years of turmoil in retail, 2022 will bring rental growth and increased investment capital to the sector across Europe, according to Savills.

Immofinanz is following its market entry in Italy with the expansion of its Stop Shop retail park brand across the Adriatic region in line with the corporate strategy. In Croatia, plans call for an increase in the number of Stop Shops from the current level of 4 to more than 20 locations over the medium term. The completion of a newly developed Stop Shop and the expansion of an existing location is scheduled for the first half of 2022. Detailed market and location analyses indicated high demand by the Croatian population for decentralised, local supplies. This conclusion led to a decision by Immofinanz to secure 22 sites in medium-sized Croatian cities for the development of Stop Shop retail parks. The purchase price for these sites totals approximately €80 million.

Warehouse occupiers are prioritising the shortening of supply chains to mitigate business risks, a trend that is likely to dominate the demand for warehouse space in Europe for the next three years, reports Savills and Tritax EuroBox plc, a leading investor in European logistics real estate. According to Savills, Poland becomes a target for larger Foreign Direct Investment facilities.

Christie & Co has advised global real estate investment manager Invesco Real Estate on the sale of the Mercure Bratislava Centrum Hotel to CPI Property Group.

Panattoni is kicking off its first investments in Hungary. On the plot purchased in Herceghalom, 30 km from the centre of Budapest, Panattoni Park Budapest West will be built with a total space of 75,500 sqm. The developer has also acquired land for City Logistics Budapest I in Törökbálint, halfway between Herceghalom and the Hungarian capital. Both investments will encompass jointly up to 100,000 sqm.

CPI Property Group announced that the Group has signed disposals that will raise gross proceeds of about €700 million and net proceeds of about €550 million following repayment of associated asset-level debt.

CBRE Investment Management, on behalf of a client, has agreed on the acquisition of the Nexus portfolio, a 211,803 sqm logistics portfolio located in Poland, from European Logistics Investment, a vehicle jointly managed by Griffin Real Estate, Redefine and Madison International Realty.

7R has finalized the divestment of 7R Park Kraków IX logistics building to Generali Real Estate. The 33 000 sqm warehouse, commissioned for use in the middle of the year, is fully leased and BREEAM-certified at the Very Good level. This is the second transaction between Generali and 7R in 2021 following Generali Real Estate’s acquisition of 7R Park Gdańsk II warehouse complex in Kowale, in September 2021. The price has not been disclosed. 

Subsequent to the shareholders' decision in June 2021 to increase the company’s capital, GTC offered 55,000,000 O-series bearer shares. On the back of strong demand, the company eventually sold as many as 88,700,000 shares at PLN 6.40 per share, raising new capital of approx. €123 million. 

108 Agency has purchased 100% of the shares of BNP Paribas Real Estate APM CR s.r.o., the Czech subsidiary of BNP Paribas Real Estate. 108 Agency was retained as preferred buyer after a competitive auction and immediately becomes the alliance partner of BNP Paribas Real Estate in the Czech Republic.