AFI Europe Romania has signed a financing agreement for €22 million with Bank Leumi Romania for the development of phase 1 of AFI Tech Park, the newest business park the company is currently developing in Bucharest.

Globalworth announced that is has acquired a 67.90% of the issued share capital of Griffin Premium Real Estate, a Dutch entity listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

The Hungarian government plans to maximise the height of any building in Budapest at 65 metres, the minister leading the Prime Minister’s Office announced. János Lázár told journalists that there is a bill before Parliament that would ban the construction of buildings higher than 65 metres.

Tricity is the third largest regional market in Poland, after Krakow and Wrocław, in terms of office stock, now at 693,000 sqm. Absorption set a new high of 62,600 sqm in the first three quarters of 2017, compared to the five-year average of less than 39,000 sqm, says Cresa in its latest report.

As a response to continued strong demand from tenants in Budapest and Bucharest, Skanska plans to launch several new projects in both capital cities. Marcin Łapiński, Managing Director for Hungary and Romania talked to Property Forum about the differences between the two markets.

Forte Partners have inaugurated the first phase of The Bridge office project located in the Grozavesti-Basarab area in Bucharest. The first building offers 36,871 sqm of leasable space. Its tenants include IBM and BCR. The first phase of the project was financed by UniCredit Bank. Bog’Art was the main construction contractor.

CPI Property Group has begun work on the Mayhouse office building, offering 7700 square metres of modern office space from the first half of 2019. The building fills a vacant plot in the Prague district of Pankrác with views to Prague Castle.

GTC has signed a €60 million refinancing and investment loan with Raiffeisen Bank International AG for the refinancing of Green Heart, its new office project in Serbia. The office park has already reached a prelease level of 42%.

London is currently Europe’s leading financial and banking services hub, but it may lose some of its appeal for businesses targeting the European Union following Brexit. Some financial institutions will move their operations outside the UK. Frankfurt and Paris will definitely benefit, but Warsaw is also one of the contenders. Bolesław Kołodziejczyk, PhD, Head of Research & Advisory, Cresa Poland analysed the potential impact of the UK’s departure from the European Union on the Polish market.

Hong Kong has replaced London’s West End as the most expensive office market in which to accommodate staff, according to new research from Cushman & Wakefield. At a global level, the average annual cost per workstation rose by 1.5% over the last 12 months. Workplace density – the number of workers within a given space – has also increased in 2017.