Property markets in CEE have solid building blocks and the region can attract more investment across the commercial sector, with industrial and private student housing standing out, concluded speakers at the CEE Investment Update London 2023 event last week, organised by Property Forum and RICS.

The Czech Office for the Protection of Competition has allowed the investment group Penta to buy (through Penta Real Estate) the company ČSAD Praha Holding, which owns the Florenc bus terminal and adjacent land in the capital. The office announced this on its website. The companies did not disclose the price of the transaction, ČTK reports.

The construction and development group Metrostav is buying the South Bohemian company Reno Šumava, which operates three quarries in South Bohemia and has its own construction company. The merger is currently being assessed by the Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS), writes local daily e15.cz. 

Panattoni has appointed logistics real estate veteran Nick Preston to diversify and increase its investor base as head of the newly created Panattoni Investment Management.

In the third quarter of 2023, the European Union investment market exhibited restrained performance, registering a transaction volume of €23 billion which, in turn, represents a noteworthy year-on-year decline of 57%. The cumulative transaction volume for the initial three quarters of 2023 amounted to approximately €80.4 billion, with domestic investors accounting for 53% of these transactions. Markus Arnold, the CEO and sole proprietor of Arnold Investments, observes "a sustained trend where equity-strong private investors continue to be highly active". The leading asset class on the European investment market remained offices with a transaction volume of €24.3 billion, comprising 30% of the total, followed by residential properties (€16.5 billion; 21%) and retail properties (€14 billion; 17%).

As elsewhere, the investment market in Poland is struggling with high interest rates and financing costs. Some asset classes though, such as flats for rent and warehouses, remain a desirable commodity among investors - this is how the panel discussion focusing on investment and financing trends at Future of Real Estate 2023 can be summarised. The event was organised by Property Forum and RICS in Warsaw this week.

Penta Real Estate has acquired unused land in Florence from České dráhy for CZK 234 million (€9.565 million). A new district is to be built on the brownfield site near the main thoroughfare, which will seamlessly connect to two buildings near Masaryk railway station, newstream.cz reports.

Real estate investor and developer GTC has recorded a like-for-like rental revenue growth of 6% in the first nine months of 2023 compared to the same period of last year. At the same time, the gross margin from rental activity slightly rose to €92 million.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is boosting the development of green commercial real estate in the Western Balkans, with a debt package of up to €100 million to be used by BIG CEE for the company’s regional expansion.

Erste Group Bank AG has granted a new loan to Cavatina Holding S.A., this time for the realization of Cavatina’s flagship project in Wroclaw. The financing, which was initiated back in October, will ultimately provide the Polish developer with funds for refinancing the costs of the Quorum D office building (up to €25 million) and for further financing of the Quorum A construction (up to €20 million), as well as an additional €3 million to cover VAT. The multifunctional Quorum complex, rising on the banks of the Oder River, is the largest project of its kind in the city.