Higher construction costs and the unfavourable economic situation in Europe are impacting the future development of new offices in the region, especially in capital cities like Prague, Bratislava, Budapest and Bucharest.

iO Partners, the JLL Preferred Partner, appointed Robert Sgariboldi as the Head of Industrial agency in Czechia. This strategic move comes in the wake of the recent appointment of James Fitzgerald as Regional Director for the Industrial & Logistics business, covering the CEE and Balkan region.

iO Partners, JLL Preferred Partner, continues to strengthen its cross-border capabilities in Central and East Europe with a new regional structure to support its market leading Industrial & Logistics business.

iO Partners, JLL’s preferred partner, has opened a new office in Belgrade, Serbia. From this location, the real estate consultancy will also cover neighboring countries including Croatia, Slovenia and Montenegro. 

With interest rates forecasted to decrease across Europe in 2024, real estate investment activity is set to increase in Romania as well as in other countries in the region. Andrei Văcaru, Head of Capital Markets CEE at iO Partners talked to Property Forum about the movers and shakers of the Romanian investment market.

While net industrial take-up is down compared to 12-18 months ago, we are seeing a large uptick in enquiries across CEE for strategic production spaces across the automotive, pharmaceuticals, and electric vehicle battery production sectors. James Fitzgerald, Director, Head of Industrial Agency at iO Partners Czechia talked to Property Forum about the main drivers of the CEE industrial market.

While international investors remain cautious, local players from CEE remain actively engaged, opportunistically monitoring the market, and taking advantage of reduced competition. Gábor Zeller, Senior Director, Capital Markets at iO Partners Hungary, talked to Property Forum about key investment trends and shared his market expectations for the rest of the year.

iO Partners, a JLL preferred partner, has announced two key promotions in the Office Advisory Department. Maria Florea has been appointed as the Head of Office Advisory Department and Claudia Cetățoiu has been promoted to the role of Corporate Transaction Director within the same unit. 

The Prague office market proved its stability with a total modern office stock surpassing 3.85 million sqm by the end of Q2 2023. Despite no new office buildings being completed this quarter, ongoing construction projects are poised to add approximately 66,800 sqm of office space across seven projects by year-end. In tandem, the market is embracing the evolving demand for flexible workspace solutions, with four new flexible office centres inaugurated during this quarter, iO Partners reports.

iO Partners, JLL preferred partner in Romania, Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia, has appointed Andrei Văcaru as Regional Head of Capital Markets for CEE. He has been working for the agency in Romania for the past 16 years.