By the end of 2017, total retail stock in the Warsaw agglomeration amounted to 1.76 million sqm, of which shopping centres accounted for 1.2 million sqm. Other formats include retail parks (276,000 sqm), standalone retail objects (212,000 sqm) and outlet centres (57,000 sqm). Approximately 85,000 sqm of space was delivered to the Warsaw retail market last year with the largest completed object being Galeria Północna (64,000 sqm). Furthermore, the saturation level in the shopping centre format totalled 472 sqm / 1,000 inhabitants and was the third lowest rate among the eight major metropolitan areas nationwide. JLL summarised 2017 on the retail market in the Warsaw agglomeration.

REICO investiční společnost České spořitelny, a.s. has acquired, on behalf of the ČS nemovitostní fond, their first prime industrial asset in Slovakia from developer and investor Invest4SEE Investment Holding GmbH. JLL advised REICO IS ČS on their first industrial acquisition in Slovakia with a transaction value of €38.9 million.

New projects are building up slowly, the number of commenced constructions are declining and high demand remains. At the end of last year, approximately 8,100 units were under construction in Prague. This is the lowest result since 2014. The total number of completions reached 6,176 apartments which is 5% below 2016 levels. 2018 will most probably not bring a major change, rather the opposite. In 2018, the construction of around 3,800 new flats will commence, the lowest figure since 2009. About 5,000 units will be completed, marking a significant decline compared to 2017.

Up to 500,000 sqm of office space was leased in 2017 by companies from the business services sector. The positive trend should continue in 2018. According to the estimates by ABSL, 50 new centres will likely open in the upcoming months, which will, in turn, lead to high demand for office space. JLL analysed the activity of companies from the business services sector in Poland in 2017.

Poland has seen record-breaking absorption on the office market. In the last year alone, companies occupied additional 800,000 sqm of office space. This translates into more than 80,000 additional job positions in modern office buildings, JLL reports.

Exchange Palace the former Budapest Stock Exchange building co-owned by Canadian developer Tippin Corporation and Luxembourg Optimum Fund Management, has received a final building permit and will commence reconstruction works in 2018. The owners appointed JLL & CBRE appointed as co-exclusive leasing agents.

LS Cable, a Korean manufacturing company, has decided to launch its division in Dzierżoniów - in the region of Lower Silesia. The facility will be established within an existing object offering 10,000 sqm. Experts from JLL represented LS Cable in the processes of seeking the appropriate property and negotiating purchase conditions.

According to data by JLL, the volume of office investment transactions concluded in Poland for 2017 was approx. €1.6 billion. A record-breaking €970 million of office investment deals was reported in major cities outside of Warsaw.

Zalando Lounge, online fashion platform Zalando’s shopping club, plans to build a 130,000 square meters large fulfilment centre together with its developer Hillwood. The new site will increase the logistics capacity of Zalando Lounge and flexibility of operations. Intralogistics will be tailored to the specific requirements of Zalando Lounge, taking temporary campaigns and occasionally larger products from the home category into account. The site will be operated by a provider. About 500 jobs will be created in the mid-term.

2017 was not the strongest year for Slovakia’s investment market but if all goes well we might see the previous record of €850 million being broken this year. Peter Nitschneider, Country Manager for Slovakia at JLL shared his expectations for the Slovak property investment market.