JLL‘s Slovak Capital Markets team has successfully closed the sale process of the Quadro office building in Bratislava, Slovakia. JLL team acted on behalf of CEE Property Development Portfolio 2, a.s., (CPDP2) a real estate investment and asset management company, part of the Česká spořitelna Financial Group. The Quadro building was acquired by Slovakia-based property company backed by Israeli and US capital. The value of the transaction remains confidential. 

1.72 million sqm of industrial space was leased in Poland in H1 2017 which is the best result in market history. Net take-up totalled 1.3 million sqm which is the third best result in Europe. Total demand is likely to be 3 million sqm by the end of 2017.JLL summarised H1 2017 on Poland's industrial market.

High demand for new premises and steady new supply are pushing the Prague office market vacancy rate down. According to JLL’s latest report, the vacancy rate currently stands at 8.6 %, being one of the lowest levels in the history of the market.

The Slovak investment volume reached only €154 million in H1 2017. A number of transactions, across all sectors currently in various stages of the transaction process are estimated to be worth ca. €350 million and should fall into H2 2017, JLL reports.

Companies signed lease agreements for nearly 723,000 sqm of modern office space in the first six months of 2017. This constitutes the best ever result for Poland's market. In total, nearly 320,000 sqm was completed while 1.8 million sqm of office space remains under construction. JLL summarised H1 2017 on the office market in Poland.

After spectacular 2016 economic results and a record-breaking FDI level of €4.1 billion, Romania’s prospects for 2017 look very promising. Bucharest, a specialized IT hub in the CEE region, has recently welcomed several new global brands such as Fitbit and the Coface Group. This influx has boosted the city’s office sector and is making Romania's capital city an attractive destination for investment funds. The yield spread between Western and even other CEE markets is still significant, with prime office yields in Bucharest at around 7.25%.

Gross take-up on the Romanian industrial market grew by 54% in H1 2017, compared with the same period of 2016, to 350,000 sqm. According to JLL Romania, the total demand for industrial space reached 180,000 sqm in the second quarter, a comparable level with the one registered in the first quarter of this year.

The office market in Warsaw broke another record – total demand for office space in H1 2017 was 391,400 sqm. Wola continues to grow in terms of both popularity and significance. JLL summarised H1 2017 on the office market in Warsaw. 

South African fund Hystead has acquired of The Mall, one of the largest shopping centres in Bulgaria, located in the capital city Sofia. The acquisition, upwards of €156 million, represents the fourth investment in the region by Hystead Limited, a joint venture between Hyprop Investments and Homestead Limited, who previously acquired the Delta City shopping centres in Podgorica and Belgrade alongside Skopje City Mall in Macedonia at the end of 2016. 

Net take-up of office spaces in Bucharest amounted to almost 80,000 sqm in the first half of the year, which means an additional 10,000 jobs, considering that companies usually allocate for each employee 8 square meters. In total, gross take-up reached 185,000 sqm in H1 2017, a small decrease when compared to first 6 month of last year (192,000 sqm), JLL reports.