The Warsaw office market is showing signs of a long-awaited recovery, says real estate advisory firm Savills. Office take-up hit 273,200 sqm in the first three months of the year, which were one the best-performing quarters in the history of the capital. Savills forecasts that with office availability continuously shrinking in the city centre, the market is set for further rental growth next year.

Many office developers expect to see a supply gap in Warsaw over the next few years and some are ready to take advantage of this opportunity. Jeroen van der Toolen, Managing Director – CEE at Ghelamco talked to Property Forum about the changes in the Polish office market, the incoming supply gap and the company`s interest in the PRS sector.

Real estate advisory firm Savills has been appointed as property manager for Sky Tower, the tallest building in Wrocław, acquired by Adventum Group in March 2022. Savills previously advised on the acquisition of the property.

7R has finalized the sale of a portfolio of several projects to CTP Group. The portfolio includes projects in the development phase, such as in Warsaw and Katowice, as well as others throughout Poland which are in the pre-development phase.

David Ebbrell, CEO and Mirta Ceranac Poljak, Managing Director for Croatia at M7 Real Estate talked to Property Forum at MIPIM about investment strategy, economic challenges and opportunities for sustainable growth.

Belgian real estate fund manager Mitiska REIM and Polish developer Karuzela Holding have opened a retail park in Puławy following the conversion of a former Tesco hypermarket on the site.

Paris-based asset manager Paref Gestion, on behalf of its SCPI Interpierre Europe Centrale fund, has acquired the Browar Lubicz office complex in Kraków from Balmoral Properties for an undisclosed sum.

In one of the largest transactions on the Warsaw office market in recent months, HB Reavis has leased 18 floors (30,000 sqm) in the Forest skyscraper to Bank Pekao. The second-largest bank in Poland will become the main tenant of the building. 

Vastint Poland has received an occupancy permit for the K2 project in Gdynia. The office building, with a leasable area of ​​11,400 sqm, was built on Kielecka Street. It was designed to meet the criteria of the LEED environmental certification. C.Hartwig Gdynia S.A., the leading freight forwarder, will be the first tenant to move into the building in September 2022.

The first quarter of the year was another very demanding time for the regional office markets. They have been confronted with exactly the same challenges as Warsaw’s office market – increasing maintenance costs, higher rents’ perspective, more expensive and longer fit-outs as well as delayed construction processes. The future boon may be the emigration of Russian specialists from high-skilled technology industries, including IT, who fill in the talent pool in the regional cities, which are hubs for the IT Products and Services sector.