Following their reopening in May, shopping centres have seen both their revenue and footfall increase to a rate exceeding the performance during the same period last year. The footfall was lower than in the pre-crisis year 2019, but the revenue was comparable; in fact, it was slightly higher. Supermarkets and hypermarkets fare the best in terms of revenue; electronics and health and beauty products are also doing well. The current performance of shopping centres can therefore be described as very strong, with figures exceeding initial expectations, and investors show renewed interest in properties again, with several major retail transactions being planned for this year and the next. To date, office and logistics properties have been selling the best this year.

Will Robson, Executive Director and Global Head of Real Estate Solutions Research at MSCI, talked to Property Forum about the assessment of environmental, social and governance (ESG) indicators in commercial real estate and its emerging role in the risk management of organizations.

Zeitraum, an international operator of student housing schemes, has just taken over the management of its first dormitory in Poland as Zeitgeist Asset Management, an investor operating on the Polish market for several years, finalised the purchase of a privately-run student hall located in Kraków from NNS. The asset is located at 33 Koszykarska Street and has been operating under the Unibase brand for three years. It can accommodate 345 people in 157 rooms. The first students will move into the building in September. JLL experts supported the investor in the purchase of the asset.

According to Colliers, CEE markets continue to feel some impact on transactional activity with flow volumes down ca. 22% year-on-year. Poland captured more than half of all invested capital in the first half of the year. Colliers estimates for 2021 that year-end volumes will remain between €10-11 billion.

The pandemic had a limited impact on the turnover of retail parks compared to shopping malls in Romania, according to real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield Echinox. 

Oxford Economics, one of the sources of CBRE Research, predicts a GDP growth of 6.9% for Romania, most likely the highest in the CEE region. With this in mind, it is clear that we are heading towards a fast-paced recovery. Luiza Moraru, Head of Property Management CEE at CBRE shared some facts and figures on investment market trends and talked about the growing activity of local investors on the Romanian market.

Malthouse Offices, the biggest office building of the Warsaw Brewery complex, as well as the historic Malthouse were acquired by Deka Immobilien, an international investment and asset manager. The buildings were sold for approximately €152.3 million.

Real estate developer OKAM has purchased 62 ha of post-industrial land in Żerań in Warsaw for an undisclosed amount. This is one of the largest transactions of this type on the real estate market, not only in the capital, but also throughout Poland.

German investor and asset manager Palmira Capital Partners has acquired a last-minute logisitcs facility in Łódź for its European Core Logistics Fund (ECLF) for an undisclosed sum.

ZDR Investments Group has acquired the Tesco hypermarket in Senec, east of Bratislava, from Tatra Asset Management. Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller in their divestment.