The scale and number of transactions in storage real estate in Central and Eastern Europe makes it one of the fastest-growing markets on the old continent. Investors generally are following the growing demand for warehouse space resulting, among other things, from the growing role of e-commerce. At the same time, the strategic location on many north-south and east-west international routes makes the CEE region of Europe a highly desirable destination for warehouse locations. It is one reason why this sector is the only real estate segment currently experiencing year-on-year growth.

Ghelamco has begun the construction of the Craft office building in the centre of Katowice, near the Silesia City Center shopping centre.

The HopStop convenience retail park in Siedlce has been sold by Polish developer Katharsis Development to British investor LCP Properties. The seller was represented by Avison Young investment team throughout the transaction.

The third quarter in Poland’s industrial sector saw a fairly positive sentiment among tenants and developers. At the end of September, the country was the second most active market in Europe in terms of net demand and the amount of space delivered. Warehouse investments in Poland were approximately €2.2 billion between January and November, setting an all-time annual record.JLL summarised the situation on the Polish industrial market at the end of Q3 2020.

Polish developer Capital Park has concluded a preliminary agreement for the purchase of two plots in Gdańsk with a total area of 1.3 ha on the Polski Hak part of Gdańsk’s port area. At the site, Capital Park is planning a residential development with retail and services functions, as well as public recreational space. The seller and the transaction price have not been disclosed.

Echo Investment has gained a loan for the construction of three office buildings included in the multifunctional Fuzja project in Łódź. Bank Pekao S.A. provided financing for the investment.

According to a report published by Cresa Poland, the vacancy rate on Poznań’s office market stood at 13.3% at the end of Q3 2020, down by 1.2 pp on the second quarter. It is the only office market in Poland to have recorded a quarterly fall in vacancies.

Panattoni is developing another modern and ecologically sustainable cross-docking terminal for DB Schenker. The 6,000 sqm centre is to be built within the Rzeszów-Dworzysko Science and Technology Park. It will be equipped with a range of solutions to protect the environment as well as intelligent systems to optimise logistic operations. The developer is to hand the centre over in January 2021 and the development has already been accredited as an innovative centre by the Rzeszów Regional Development Agency.

Iceland, Sweden and Norway show top potential for hyperscale and cloud-scale data centre investment, followed closely by Denmark and the Netherlands according to research from Savills. The CEE region is also becoming more important in strategic plans for key players, with Poland having the potential of being in its heart.

Hines has acquired a major logistics park in Wrocław on behalf of the Hines Pan-European Core Fund (HECF) from GLL Real Estate Partners (GLL), the fund manager which is part of the Macquarie Group. The 123,499 sqm logistics park is fully leased to a global online retailer. The mezzanine warehouse facility was developed in 2015 by Panattoni Europe. The transaction price has not been disclosed.