Companies signed lease agreements for nearly 723,000 sqm of modern office space in the first six months of 2017. This constitutes the best ever result for Poland's market. In total, nearly 320,000 sqm was completed while 1.8 million sqm of office space remains under construction. JLL summarised H1 2017 on the office market in Poland.

AFI Brasov has recently obtained the construction permit and will be the third shopping center AFI Romania is developing in Romania. The shopping center will offer a total gross leasable area of 45,000 sqm, 80% of which is already leased, that will be combined with two additional Class A office towers totalling 25,000 sqm GLA. The overall investment for the mall and first office building is estimated to be over €120 million. The entire project is developed to be LEED Gold certified as a green building.   

Skanska has launched the construction works of the Nowy Rynek office project in Poznan, Poland, A new city quarter, together with a market located in a complex of multi-functional buildings, will be developed on an area of 3.8 ha on the crossroads of Matyi and Wierzbięcice Streets. Furthermore, it will constitute one of the biggest urban enterprises in the history of Poznan as well as being Skanska's most complex developer project to date in Poland. During the first phase of construction works, the company will develop an office building offering 25,000 sqm of modern space. The first phase is expected to be delivered in Q2 2019.

Hines has sold the Proximo I office building from the portfolio of the Hines Russia & Poland Fund to the CSNF fund, which is managed by Czech investor REICO IS ČS, for €116.6 million.

Globalworth Real Estate Investments announced the completion of the previously announced acquisition of Green Court Bucharest Building C. The transaction was effected through the acquisition of 100% of the shares of SPC Epsilon Property Development Company s.r.l., the company owning the asset, for a consideration paid to Skanska of approximately €38 million.

After spectacular 2016 economic results and a record-breaking FDI level of €4.1 billion, Romania’s prospects for 2017 look very promising. Bucharest, a specialized IT hub in the CEE region, has recently welcomed several new global brands such as Fitbit and the Coface Group. This influx has boosted the city’s office sector and is making Romania's capital city an attractive destination for investment funds. The yield spread between Western and even other CEE markets is still significant, with prime office yields in Bucharest at around 7.25%.

AFI Europe and Dedeman have agreed to cancel the sales transaction of the AFI Park 1-3 office buildings in Bucharest, Romania.

Gross take-up in the first half of the year decreased on yearly basis in the two largest regional cities in the Czech Republic. The Regional Research Forum – comprising CBRE, Colliers International, Cushman & Wakefield, JLL, Knight Frank – published its Brno and Ostrava office market figures for H1 2017.

Europa Capital has concluded the sale of a portfolio comprising two city centre office buildings in Budapest with a total floor area of approximately 26,000 sqm. KGAL, a European asset and investment manager, acquired the Kálvin Square and CityZen assets on behalf of institutional investors. The combined price for the portfolio is approximately €60 million. The property management will be carried out by KGAL´s local partner ConvergenCE. 

An international investment consortium comprising Wing, Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing and CC Real has sold the West End Business Center office building in Budapest to OTP Property Investment Fund.