AFI Europe, the owner of among others the largest mall in Bucharest, has completed the takeover of the portfolio consisting of four office projects from NEPI Rockcastle, in the most important office transaction in Romanian history. With a value of €307 million, the transaction through which NEPI Rockcastle, advised by Colliers International, sold four office projects to AFI Europe represents a third of the real estate investment market estimated at about €1 billion in 2020. The acquisition places Romania on the map of large strategic investors and has the potential to become a catalyst for significant new transactions in the future, being an important benchmark for local market liquidity and contributing to increasing investor confidence, according to Colliers International specialists.

The market for flexible office space has been experiencing dynamic growth for several years. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed a lot of things about our daily lives, also in the office sector, and thus has significantly affected tenant preferences. Many tenants have made or are considering a decision to move some of their branches or even headquarters to flexible spaces. The main reasons for the growing interest in flex spaces include the possibility of enlarging or reducing the space, no long-term commitments, and no need for investment outlays, according to an analysis by experts from Mindspace, a global operator of flexible workspaces.

The office market in Bucharest and in the major regional cities of Romania - Cluj-Napoca, Timișoara, Iași and Brașov - continues to develop, with local and foreign investors having projects under construction or scheduled for delivery with an area of approximately 500,000 square meters that will be put into use in the next 16 months, according to Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.

Real estate developer Hagag Development Europe finished construction works – refurbishing and reconversion – for its office project H Victoriei 109 in Bucharest. The building will be delivered following the final reception protocol. Up to the present time, 50% of the GLA has been contracted.

Cavatina Holding has entrusted Knight Frank with the management of the Carbon Tower office building in Wrocław. The building’s leasable floor area totals 19,000 sqm.

Savills has been appointed by Atrium European Real Estate as sole letting agent for office space in all the buildings owned by the fund in Poland.

GTC’s rental and service revenues decreased by €3 million to €79 million in H1 2020. The decrease mainly resulted from a decrease in income of approximately €8 million due to rent relief imposed by governments during the lockdown of shopping malls and rent concessions and discounts provided by the Group to the retail tenants across the portfolio due to the COVID-19 outbreak combined with a decrease on rental revenues following the sale of GTC White House in the third quarter of 2019 and Neptun Office Center in the fourth quarter of 2019 of €3 million. The decrease was partially offset by an increase in the rental revenues due to completion of Ada Mall, Green Heart, ABC I and Matrix A.

In the first half of 2020, the supply of modern class A, B and C office space in Sofia increased by 1%, reaching 2,315,600 sqm, according to Colliers International. The recently completed building 3 of Garitage Park accounted for much of the growth in the office stock.

Kajima Poland has completed the extension and reconstruction of the Bydgoszcz headquarters of tyre e-retailer Oponeo.pl.

Due to the lockdown caused by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, most companies embraced a remote working model and scaled-down business activity. How did this affect the Polish office market? Cushman & Wakefield presented a summary of H1 2020.