Bucharest's Mayor Nicușor Dan said that the city needs a “correct urban development”, while the permitting process for property investments will be updated to include tougher criteria that have to be met by developers.

Jet Industrial Lease has bought a 54,000 sqm portfolio of five industrial buildings in Poland from Vestinlog, part of the KKCG group. The value of the transaction has not been disclosed.

19 construction groups listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange reported nominal revenue growth of 10% y-o-y over the past four quarters, which was driven by the continued hike in prices of labour and building materials. Also, the aggregate net profit posted by companies in this group improved substantially as it grew by PLN 1.3 billion over the year, though it was mostly due to one-off market developments. Notwithstanding that, the profit margin figures reported by the listed construction companies are still worse that results delivered by developers and suppliers of building materials and construction equipment.

Immofinanz has recently received takeover offers from both CPI Property Group and S Immo in the latest chapter of the Austrian takeover saga. During the last couple of years, the three major Austrian real estate companies – Immofinanz, CA Immo and S Immo – have received (and usually rejected) numerous takeover offers with mergers in almost every possible combination also having been discussed. To help its readers keep track, Property Forum has put together a timeline of all the offers that were announced since 2014.

JLL announced that Ben Rose has been appointed Head of Capital Markets for the Czech Republic. Ben takes over the role from Mike Atwell, who – after four years of heading up the Czech Republic and CEE capital markets team – returned to London to take up a senior position in the EMEA Industrial & Logistics investment team.

Romanian Akcent Development will invest around €75 million in Akcent City, a new residential project with 810 apartments located in the Bucureștii Noi area of northern Bucharest. 

Futureal Investment Partners has acquired the Galeria Bemowo shopping centre in Warsaw, Poland. The value of the transaction remains undisclosed. 

Real estate advisory firm Savills presents a preliminary summary of 2021 and predicts trends for the coming months. The commercial real estate market in Poland is regaining momentum but has changed significantly, reveals Savills. Key trends expected to dominate in the year ahead include rental growth, increasing ESG awareness and a focus on innovation.

ČEZ ESCO has completed the acquisition of Capexus, a Czech company engaged in the design, planning and implementation of modern and energy-efficient office space, as well as the revitalization of older commercial buildings. The merger of the two companies has already been approved by the Office for the Protection of Competition.  

Hungarian asset manager Futureal Investment Partners has made its second acquisition – the Wratislavia Towers mixed-use development in Wrocław city centre. The value of the transaction remains undisclosed.