Many office developers expect to see a supply gap in Warsaw over the next few years and some are ready to take advantage of this opportunity. Jeroen van der Toolen, Managing Director – CEE at Ghelamco talked to Property Forum about the changes in the Polish office market, the incoming supply gap and the company`s interest in the PRS sector.

Real estate advisory firm Savills has been appointed as property manager for Sky Tower, the tallest building in Wrocław, acquired by Adventum Group in March 2022. Savills previously advised on the acquisition of the property.

Passerinvest Group is starting the construction of a new seven-storey office building in Prague 4. The Roztyly Plaza building close to the bus terminal and metro station is to be completed in 2024, the developer announced.

David Ebbrell, CEO and Mirta Ceranac Poljak, Managing Director for Croatia at M7 Real Estate talked to Property Forum at MIPIM about investment strategy, economic challenges and opportunities for sustainable growth.

Paris-based asset manager Paref Gestion, on behalf of its SCPI Interpierre Europe Centrale fund, has acquired the Browar Lubicz office complex in Kraków from Balmoral Properties for an undisclosed sum.

In one of the largest transactions on the Warsaw office market in recent months, HB Reavis has leased 18 floors (30,000 sqm) in the Forest skyscraper to Bank Pekao. The second-largest bank in Poland will become the main tenant of the building. 

Vastint Poland has received an occupancy permit for the K2 project in Gdynia. The office building, with a leasable area of ​​11,400 sqm, was built on Kielecka Street. It was designed to meet the criteria of the LEED environmental certification. C.Hartwig Gdynia S.A., the leading freight forwarder, will be the first tenant to move into the building in September 2022.

The first quarter of the year was another very demanding time for the regional office markets. They have been confronted with exactly the same challenges as Warsaw’s office market – increasing maintenance costs, higher rents’ perspective, more expensive and longer fit-outs as well as delayed construction processes. The future boon may be the emigration of Russian specialists from high-skilled technology industries, including IT, who fill in the talent pool in the regional cities, which are hubs for the IT Products and Services sector.

The beginning of the year was marked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine which caused various obstacles to the Slovak economy. It pushes inflation up to the highest in 17 years as also the prices of food, housing and energy. Nevertheless, the lifted lockdown measures helped boost retail sales and new office leases surpassed renegotiations for the sixth quarter in a row. Experts also saw a record quarter with substantial take-up and plunging vacancy rates, Cushman & Wakefield Slovakia presents in their new report on the Slovak economy.

According to a new report published by Newmark Polska, the first quarter of 2022 was marked in Poland’s regional city office markets by high supply levels, stable demand and a shrinking volume of space under construction. With office availability remaining high in some cities, office tenants still have many options to choose from.