Retail parks have been the biggest beneficiaries of the structural retail changes in Poland over the last ten years. Their number has doubled and increased their share in total retail stock by 4 pps. In H1 2020, developers completed nearly 148,000 sqm of modern retail space in large scale projects (GLA>5,000 sqm). Of this new supply, 67% was delivered in the shape of eight new retail parks and three extensions of existing schemes. Almost 450,000 sqm of GLA is still under construction with initial completion dates set for 2020 and 2021. Retail parks account for nearly 26% of this volume. JLL and Trei Real Estate Poland summarised the situation regarding these projects at the end of H1 2020, and outlined the development prospects for this commercial real estate sector in Poland.

Cavatina Holding has acquired the Widzewska Manufaktura revitalisation project in Łódź for €90 million (PLN 400 million). The seller of the approximately 4 ha site at Piłsudskiego 135 with its 19th-century industrial buildings was a company headed and co-founded by Stanisław Zaręba, represented in the transaction by Deloitte.

Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU, one of the largest investment fund companies in Poland, dealing inter alia in investments on the real estate market, has chosen a new manager of its office assets. Starting from the end of August, Knight Frank will be responsible for the management and commercialization of 9 buildings in Warsaw, Wrocław and Gdańsk.  

Panattoni has begun construction on City Logistics Warsaw V in the city’s Rembertów district with a total area of over 11,000 sqm. The building is dedicated to Warsaw logistics and has been built with Small Business Unit modules with a minimum size of 1,080 sqm. The work is to be completed in Q2 2021.

Savills Investment Management has acquired another logistics unit in Łódź. The property was purchased from Invesco Real Estate, the global real estate investment manager, on behalf of the Savills IM European Logistics Fund 2 (ELF 2), which now owns 26 properties in Europe.

Polish shopping platform Allegro has leased nearly 16,200 sqm at the Norblin Factory in Warsaw. The tenant was represented during its negotiations with the Capital Park Group by global real estate advisory firm Cresa.

Accolade and Aareal Bank of Germany have agreed on the refinancing of six parks in Szczecin, Bydgoszcz, Lublin, Legnica, Białystok, and Zielona Góra in Poland.  This refinancing, in an aggregate value of €153 million, is one of the largest financial transactions in the industrial real estate segment in Central Europe.

Three tenants – LPP, Investa and Centor – have decided to extend their leases in Segro Logistics Park Stryków near Łódź, in deals that together amount to almost 80,000 sqm.

The first building of the Resi4Rent project, being part of the Warsaw Brewery, has obtained its occupancy permit. In the all-purpose part of Warsaw's Wola district, revitalized by Echo Investment, Resi4Rent has developed 450 apartments for long-term rent. The first tenants have been moving in.

Elite Partners Capital has acquired a warehouse in Mszczonów, Poland for more than €30 million from a subsidiary of Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC. The transaction spearheads its build-up of a portfolio of specialised logistics assets in Europe to address opportunities arising from COVID-19-related disruptions.