The final group of tenants has moved in to the first phase of Advance Tower, Futureal Group’s new office building on the Váci Road office corridor in Budapest, Hungary. The building, designed to support the health and comfort of over 1,400 employees, offers a GLA of 12,000 sqm. The second phase of the development is now structurally complete with handover expected in H2 2019.

According to research conducted by JLL, the flexible office space sector in Europe has more than doubled since 2014, driven by the development of start-ups, creative industries, and small- and medium-sized companies. Furthermore, the combination of high tenant activity with the business plans of the world's largest operators means that the volume of flexible space in most European cities will have likely increased by 20-40% in 2018 alone.

The Imagine office complex in Łódź is entering its final phase of development. Buildings A and B feature the symbolic topping out, which means that the highest construction point has been reached. The investment carried out by Avestus Real Estate at the intersection of Piłsudskiego and Śmigłego-Rydza avenues in Łódź will be ready to receive tenants in Q3 2019.

Wrocław is the third largest state-of-the-art office market in Poland (after Warsaw and Kraków) and one of the fastest developing office locations in the country. JLL summarized the current situation on the Wrocław office market.

GalCap Europe, an investment and asset manager active in Austria and the CEE region, has entered Poland with the acquisition of two historic boutique office buildings in Warsaw, Wilcza 46 and Mokotowska 33/35.

December is a time for Romania to score positive results for sales at supermarkets, hypermarkets or discounters as well as for gifts, offering generous returns for retailers in shopping centres and preferring apparel rather than electronic goods relative to other Europeans. The season’s celebrations are a recurring highlight each year for the office segment as well, as both landlords and tenants invest in promoting the holiday spirit.

Warsaw is experiencing growing demand for offices, absorption of new space, decreasing vacancy rates, and is expected to see rental growth and strong investment volumes. Next year, the city should further cement its dominant position as a thriving business hub and a regional leader in terms of economic growth and office market maturity. These economic fundamentals show no signs of slowing down, according to a report by JLL.

Belgian real estate developer Speedwell is investing €40 million in a mixed-use project in the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Erste Group has laid the cornerstone of the second phase of the Sirius Offices business complex in Belgrade which will include the construction of 12,500 square metres of space over eight floors and a parking lot for 200 vehicles. Erste plans to invest €25 million in the second phase of the project. The building will be completed by the middle of 2020.

Bulgarian Real Estate Fund received permission for the construction of a new building in the state-owned Science and Technology Park in Sofia.