Sooner or later, many companies that recommended their employees to work from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic will return to their offices. Whether this happens in a matter of two, four or six weeks, it is a good idea to start preparing for the move now. The Six Feet Office concept offers rules and aids to enable and facilitate the observance of the safe six-feet distance for increased employee safety. The companies that implement these rules will be able to accelerate the return of their employees to the offices, and thus their own return to normal.

70% of office building managers confirmed the adverse effects of the current restrictions on contract negotiations in a survey conducted by Walter Herz. The consulting company analysed how companies in Poland are coping with the current situation on the office market and what effects does home office bring. 

Colliers International has taken over the management of Prosta Office Centre in Warsaw. The current owner of Prosta Office Centre is KGAL Investment Management which acquired it from Cromwell Property Group at the beginning of this year.

Almost 70% of landlords and tenants in the office market believe that the COVID-19 epidemics will continue to affect their business throughout this whole year, with first signs of recovery being expected to start with 2021, according to a study conducted by Colliers International among 60 landlords and more than 100 tenants.

The coronavirus pandemic has had a relatively benign effect on the Q1 2020 Warsaw office market figures, according to the latest Savills research. However, tenants already started to optimize costs which soon may increase the number of lease renewals and subleases. Companies will look for more flexible lease terms and cost-effective locations.

During the first three months of 2020, demand on the Warsaw office market was nearly 139,000 sqm, which almost matched the Q1 performance of last year. The vacancy rate fell by 0.3 pps, while 770,000 sqm is under construction. JLL summarised the Warsaw office market in Q1 2020.

Penta Real Estate completed the Business Centrum Tesla 2 office building project in Košice by selling it to the Austrian company European City Estates. The BCT 2 provides 14,600 square meters of office space. The largest tenants include the companies T-Systems Slovakia, Deloitte, Diebold-Nixdorf and Colonnade. On the seller side, the transaction was advised by JLL and the purchase price was not disclosed upon agreement between the parties.

The Polish Commercial Real Estate Chamber (PINK) is hereby publishing figures on the office market in Warsaw for Q1 2020. The data is sourced from advisory companies from the commercial real estate sector (BNP Paribas Real Estate, CBRE, Colliers International, Cresa, Cushman&Wakefield, JLL, Knight Frank, Savills) and includes information on modern office stock, new completions, take-up volumes and vacancy rates.

Appetite for the acquisition of office buildings and industrial parks, less rented offices and shopping centres with postponed openings, this is how this quarter could be described regarding the real estate market in Romania, according to the quarterly report of CBRE.

Yareal has signed a contract to sell the Nowogrodzka Square office building to a French fund managed by Amundi Real Estate. The transaction includes a Class A office building covering an area of 11,000 square meters, as well as an underground garage with 148 parking spaces. Nowogrodzka Square was opened in the fall of 2018.