According to Savills, commercial property investment activity hit €2.92 billion across Poland in H1 2020, up by almost 5% on the same period in 2019. Despite COVID-19 challenges, it was the second-best result in the first half of a year on record. Savills anticipates that the pandemic’s impact will be noticeable in H2 2020, but the investment volume is unlikely to fall by more than 20% compared to last year’s all-time high.

The first half of 2020 saw a record high investment activity with €3.5 billion of investment transactions closed on the Polish market. Although this was a 30% higher result compared to the corresponding period of last year, achieving a full-year result similar to the record-breaking €7.8 billion volume of 2019 may be difficult, according to Avison Young.

Penta Real Estate has successfully completed the sale of Bory Business Park project to the Karimpol Group development company. The land with a total area of 60,000 sqm is located in the new Bory district in Bratislava and was sold together with a building permit. The project allows the construction of retail space with the possibility of combining showrooms, offices and storage. Both parties have agreed that the transaction value will not be disclosed.

Industrial property specialist Gazeley announced that it is adopting the GLP brand name following its acquisition by the global investment manager in 2017. In addition, GLP announces that it has closed on the acquisition of Goodman Group’s Central and Eastern European logistics real estate portfolio.

Chariot Top Group BV, a company managed by Griffin Real Estate, has finalized the sale of the investment plot located in Katowice at Al. Górnośląska.

Results from the INREV Quarterly Index for the first quarter of 2020 reveal initial signs of the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the European real estate industry, with the lowest quarterly performance since Q4 2012.

The implementation of the office projects under construction is in full swing in Kraków. The construction of new buildings will depend, however, on the demand for offices from the business services sector, which is its main recipient on the Kraków market, according to consultancy company Walter Herz.

NEPI Rockcastle and AFI Europe initiated arbitration proceedings in connection with the disputed matter of the sellers requesting the purchaser to pay the €15 million contractual guarantee and the purchaser contesting the validity of the sellers’ claim and requesting specific performance of the disposal, NEPI Rockcastle announced.

Romanian DIY store operator Dedeman has acquired the third building of 80,000 sqm The Bridge office complex, developed by Forte Partners in Bucharest, thus completing a €200 million transaction started in 2018.

Cordia International Zrt., as part of its international expansion strategy, has recently acquired 93% of Warsaw listed Polish residential developer Polnord S.A. through a combination of capital increase and public tender offer that was closed on 9 of April 2020. Cordia will first report the effects of such acquisition in its half-year balance sheet but has provided guidance on its positive effects on Cordia’s equity capital.