Immofinanz Group generated sound growth in rental income and earnings in the first quarter of 2024. Rental income rose by 11.5% year-on-year to €143.2 million. After an adjustment for new acquisitions, completions and sales, the like-for-like rental income recorded by Immofinanz (excluding S Immo) rose by 6.4%. The results of asset management increased by 14.3% over the previous year to €120.0 million and the results of operations improved by a strong 26.4% to €104.3 million. FFO 1 after tax was 23.5% higher at €69.7 million (Q1 2023: €56.4 million).

Family office Pannonia Group, together with the Austrian family office of IPD Innovation Park Development, has announced the completion of the transaction of the purchase of a historic building on Štúrova Street in Bratislava from Československá obchodná banka.

The property investment market in the EU reached around €22.8 billion in Q1 2024, down by approximately 26% compared to the same period of last year, although some markets have rebounded significantly in this period, according to an Arnold Investments report.

Real estate investor Martin Ladyr, through property management software company Swrop, has bought the office building known as Atrium House in Prague 10 from the investment group Cimex. He has also confirmed plans to reconstruct and modernise it gradually.

Remodelling an iconic commercial building and preserving its historic heritage is a challenge. Finding a perfect tenant mix for a long period is an even bigger problem. Property Forum asked Oliver Balogh and Viktor Balogh, founders of Corvin Palace Kft. about the ways the development company met these challenges.

Commercial property investment in Romania amounted to €202 million in Q1 2024, up by 69% compared to the same period of last year, with retail accounting for around two-thirds of the deal volume, according to a Colliers report.

Retail parks continue to attract strong investor interest and remain the most popular retail format on the development market. Meanwhile, new brands are entering the Polish retail market, which is also seeing the rise of AI-powered solutions, say BNP Paribas Real Estate experts in their latest report. 

The international developer UDI Group has opened a fund of qualified investors. It is intended for private and institutional investors. In addition to funds or banks, large private investors can also invest in the fund. The lowest possible deposit is CZK 1 million (€40,000). In the future, the fund will also include sub-funds aimed at financing individual large projects. In the first phase, the General sub-fund is opened, which will invest in the UDI Group as a whole, and the Conservative sub-fund invests in loans for individual projects. To investors, the fund will offer appreciation in a more conservative form with a guarantee of a minimum return of 6.5% per year, with a premium return of around 15% per year expected. The status and statutes of the fund were checked and approved by the CNB.

The real estate market in the Czech Republic has recently been most influenced by the overall economic situation associated with current events in Europe including the war in Ukraine, expensive energy prices and high interest rates. According to 2023 PSN data in the residential segment, the situation is favourable for investor purchases.

Real estate investor and fund manager Cromwell Property Group announced the sale of six retail centres across Poland, held by the Cromwell Polish Retail Fund (CPRF), to Star Capital Finance for €285 million.