Skanska has commenced construction works of the second office building in its Nowy Rynek complex, developed in Poznan in close proximity to both Dworzec Glowny railway station and Poznan's Old Town. Ultimately, the area of 3.8 ha will include buildings with various functions, an urban market which will be open to the public, and other areas that will promote recreation and entertainment.

GalCap Europe, a Vienna-based international investment and asset management company, acquired the Central Udvar mixed-use complex as its second property after the Merkur Palota in Budapest. The purchase was made on behalf of a separate account for a German pension scheme, administered by Institutional Investment Partners. CBRE has advised GalCap Europe to purchase the building in an off-market deal. The buyer and the seller agreed not to disclose any purchase price details. Legal advice to GalCap Europe was provided by CHSH Dezső & Partner.

Skanska has sold Nowa Fabryczna building in Łódź, Poland, to real estate fund manager Niam. It is the developer’s second office project in the city, and the seventh Skanska property Niam has acquired in the Polish regional markets since 2015.

Atenor’s new Polish affiliate has signed a preliminary agreement to acquire long-term lease rights on two 30,500 sqm office buildings in Warsaw. These office buildings are known as the University Business Center and are located in the Mokotów district. They offer approximately €3 million in annual rental income.

Office take-up in 2017 hit a record high of 674,800 sqm in Poland’s regional office markets, up by more than 16% on 2016’s level. The strongest leasing activity was recorded in Kraków, Wrocław and Tricity. Cushman & Wakefield has published its MarketBeat report.

According to data by JLL, the volume of office investment transactions concluded in Poland for 2017 was approx. €1.6 billion. A record-breaking €970 million of office investment deals was reported in major cities outside of Warsaw.

As of January 2018, BNP Paribas Real Estate was selected to provide property management services for a real estate portfolio of 60,000 sqm commercial properties owned by OTP Real Estate Investment Fund. The mandate consists of 4 buildings: Akadémia Park, Szépvölgyi 22, Raday 42 and a logistics park in Gyál, at the outskirts of Budapest.

Curzon Capital Partners III (CCP III), a core plus Fund advised by Tristan Capital Partners, has completed a €64 million sale of Praha City Center office to Amundi Asset Management.

Budapest-based investment company Wigan Acquisitions has completed the acquisition of a multi-let office building in downtown Budapest, taking the total capital deployed on behalf of its family office and private equity partners to €135 million.

Warsaw’s central office district went through a transformation process in recent years following the delivery of a number of modern office developments such as Q22 or Warsaw Spire, which have already been acclaimed as unique and landmark schemes. However, in addition to modern buildings and futuristic skyscrapers, this area is also home to second-generation offices developed before 2000 and historical buildings which form an integral part of the capital city’s centre. Michał Wachowicz, Consultant, Capital Markets at Cushman & Wakefield analysed Warsaw’s CBD.