Kinstellar has advised the hospitality division of the House of Julius Meinl on the completion of the purchase of the Hotel Ambasador, one of the most famous hotels in Bucharest. Operating continuously since 1937, it is an iconic landmark in the city. 

Noerr and Kinstellar have announced that Noerr’s practices in Budapest, Bratislava, Bucharest and Prague are to be transferred to Kinstellar.

Victor Constantinescu, Managing Partner of Kinstellar Bucharest, talked to Property Forum about this year’s environment for property investments in CEE and Romania’s emerging profile as a hub in the region which will generate more development across the economy, including the property and clean energy sectors.

There is increased demand for all categories of property assets in Romania, with office and industrial set to continue their growth streak this year. Property Forum talked to Victor Constantinescu, Managing Partner of Kinstellar’s Bucharest office and Co-Head of the firm-wide Real Estate practice, about the impact of the pandemic on Romania’s real estate market and how the country’s property investment potential can be harnessed in the next years.

The PRS market in the CEE region gathers pace and interest from investors but the majority of activity is currently centred around the Czech Republic and Poland. However, there is a larger number of PRS/BTR projects being announced in the pipeline for delivery over the next few years across the entire region. Colliers, in cooperation with Kinstellar and Greenberg Traurig, publishes a report entitled 'The Private Rental Sector: Has it found a home in CEE?'

Romania has one of the smallest private rental sectors (PRS) in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), and the domestic market counts a little over 1,000 residential units in construction or planned, according to a report by Colliers in collaboration with Greenberg Traurig and Kinstellar. 

Residential investment volumes across the CEE region have been limited and averaged out annually at just over €200 million in the past 5 years. The balance between private, owner-occupied dwellings and those that are for rent in CEE lean towards ownership according to “The Private Rental Sector: Has it found a home in CEE?” report just launched by Colliers in collaboration with Greenberg Traurig and Kinstellar. From the stock of existing developer/investor-owned, multiple-unit PRS schemes, the Czech Republic is ahead, followed by Poland and the remaining countries behind that. 

Last year, international law firm Kinstellar played a vital part in closing two of the largest transactions on the office market in Romania: Floreasca Park, sold to Resolution Property (member of the Fosun Group) and Zeus Capital for more than €100 million and two Class A office buildings owned by Skanska sold to S Immo for €97 million. This was in addition to a series of deals in logistics and other asset classes. Property Forum talked to Victor Constantinescu, Managing Partner of the Bucharest office and Co-Head of the firm-wide Real Estate Practice, about how the first year of the pandemic was and what’s next.

Czech investment group Portiva and Micronix have acquired the Central Kladno shopping centre in Brno from Crestyl for approximately €74.8 million (CZK 2 billion).

Law firm Kinstellar has successfully represented OTP Bank and its Bulgarian subsidiary, DSK Bank, in negotiating a €25 million loan for the construction and operation of Balkan Business Center, a major office complex in Sofia.