In Q1 2020, Echo Investment commissioned four housing projects and two office buildings, sold 399 apartments and handed over 190 to clients, started the rental process in the second Resi4Rent building in Wrocław and secured the purchase of attractive plots of land on which 4,000 apartments can be built. During this time, the Group’s next profit exceeded PLN 40 million.

Cushman & Wakefield won a double mandate for the property and asset management of the Nowogrodzka Square office building which was recently acquired by Amundi Real Estate from developer Yareal.

Europi Property Group has acquired a 12.3% stake in Capital Park, an owner, operator and developer of office and mixed-use assets in Poland, predominantly Warsaw. While EPG had been tracking the company since late 2019, the opportunity to invest arose as a result of the market distress in March, enabling the acquisition at an attractive discount to the net asset value.

In Q1 2020, the total office stock of Poland’s nine largest markets (Warsaw, Krakow, Wrocław, Tricity, the Upper Silesian and Zagłębie Metropolis, Poznań, Łódź, Lublin, and Szczecin) reached close to 11.3 million sqm, up by 5% on the same period in 2019. Cushman & Wakefield summarised Q1 2020 on the Polish office market.

According to a study conducted by research body Inquiry for the Polish Council of Shopping Centres (PRCH), 51% of those surveyed visited shopping centres in the first week after they reopened following the easing of the lockdown measures. Out of these, 64% visited shopping centres to make specific purchases, while 31% went to browse the stores or to seek out promotions.

Panattoni has introduced a new façade standard at its parks. The new façade features predominantly aluminium and glass, with a new colour scheme and larger green areas. The makeover is part of the company’s sustainable development approach, which includes reducing CO2 emissions, employee well-being, environmental stewardship, as well as BREEAM certification of newly built facilities with a Very Good rating.

Ghelamco Poland has introduced special solutions to its office buildings to prepare them for an epidemic which will become a standard in the company’s future projects. A new approach to HVAC systems will enable the buildings to operate in the so-called pandemic mode.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused chaos across the global economy. Within the commercial real estate market, logistics has weathered this storm better than other sectors, allowing planning of new developments to gradually resume following price corrections. Changes in financing conditions for real estate development may alter the new supply structure, with a likely increase in demand for BTO (build to own) and BTS (build to suit) development projects and a decline in speculative schemes, according to advisory firm Axi Immo.

Savills has been appointed property manager of Posejdon, a €78 million (PLN 350 million) office, conference and hotel complex in Szczecin. The building is entering an operational phase, with more office tenants moving in and the first retail stores now open. The opening of two hotels (four- and three-star hotels) is scheduled for the second half of 2020.

According to Cresa Poland, the office market in Poznań is heading towards achieving supply-demand balance. Within one year, office stock in Poznań increased by almost 11% and amounted to over 580,100 sqm by the end of March 2020. The average annual growth rate for this market in the years 2012–2020 was at the level of 11%.