According to the latest report by JLL, Disruption or Distraction, the flexible office space sector in Europe has more than doubled since 2014, and could grow by up to 30% per year over the next five years. These forecasts - based on an analysis of 20 major European markets - also include Warsaw, which dominates the Polish flex market.

Czech investment group Enern, owned by online supermarket Rohlik.cz, together with US investor Lincoln Property Company, has acquired the Palác Karlín building in Prague from Danish company Kirkbi Invest A/S for an undisclosed sum.

The Gatehouse Offices, the first office building of Warsaw Brewery, will be acquired by a fund managed by GLL Real Estate Partners. The project of Echo Investment, which will obtain the occupancy permit in Q4 2018, will be sold for €76.5 million.

Talent availability is the primary factor when choosing a new location, according to a survey that Cushman & Wakefield in conjunction with CoreNet Global conducted every year since 2016. C&W surveyed global corporate real estate executives across a variety of industry sectors focusing on their key office location strategies and decision drivers worldwide.

GTC’s latest development, GTC White House has achieved the highest, Platinum certification level under the LEED for Building Design and Construction rating scheme. As of today, this is the second office building which was awarded with this certification in Budapest. The certification process was advised by Colliers International Hungary’s Green Building Advisory Team.

According to Cresa, Warsaw’s total office stock has risen by more than 3.75% over the year to 5.42 million sqm and the absorption rate is down by 1.4% compared with Q3 2017. The vacancy rate is at 10%.

A fleeting trend or a well-thought-out strategy? Cushman & Wakefield presented a report on the use of commercial buildings’ rooftops.

Wing has begun preparations for the construction of another office building in one of Budapest’s most dynamically developing districts, right next to the recently inaugurated Telekom HQ. With a total floor space of 40,000 sqm, the Liberty Office Building will offer premium office and retail space. A distinctive feature and main appeal of the people-oriented building, constructed to BREEAM ‘Very Good’ certification requirements, is a plant-filled, two-storey high rooftop greenhouse spanning the wing along the boulevard and a skybar with a panoramic view to the Buda mountains.

Ghelamco presented Warsaw Unit, its latest Warsaw project, previously known as Spinnaker. The 180-metre skyscraper is scheduled to be completed in early 2021. The project’s budget is nearly €200 million.

For growing numbers of employees across Europe's big cities, heading into the office no longer entails sitting at the same desk, next to the same colleagues each day. As more companies of all shapes and sizes choose turn to flexible space – whether its hot-desking areas in buildings they already occupy or taking space in independently owned coworking set-ups - it's fast becoming part of modern working life and a small but increasingly significant part of Europe's office markets. Europe's flex space footprint has doubled since the start of 2015, according to JLL's report. In 2017 alone, flexible space grew by 29 percent, adding around 620,000 square meters.