The Spanish Azora Europa I Fund has closed the disposal of Aquarius Business House office complex in Wrocław, which has been acquired by the international fund CBRE Global Investors. Avison Young’s investment team represented the buyer.

Panattoni Europe continues its expansion in north-eastern Poland. The developer has leased out 100 per cent of space at Panattoni Park Białystok I and announced the development of the second distribution centre in the heart of Podlasie. Additional 35,000 sqm will be delivered this year at Panattoni Park Białystok II.

Developers operating on the six largest Polish cities sold a total of 17,600 units in the fourth quarter of 2019, which is 9% more than in the previous quarter. This increased annual sales to 65,400 units, which is nearly 1% better than last year. It was also the second-best result in the history of the primary housing market in Poland, according to JLL’s report.

KGAL, an independent investment and asset manager, has bought a second office building in Warsaw. The acquisition of the Prosta Office Centre (POC) from Cromwell Property Group follows the 2018 purchase of the Spark office complex. Both assets were acquired for a Europe-wide special real estate AIF.

Savills has been appointed as sole adviser to M7 Real Estate for the fund’s entire office portfolio. Savills will be responsible for office space leasing and property management. The portfolio comprises a total of approximately 73,500 sqm across seven buildings located in four cities: Warsaw, Krakow, Wroclaw and Katowice.

Madison International Realty has acquired a 46.5 per cent equity stake in European Logistics Investment platform (ELI), a circa €500 million Polish real estate portfolio, from majority owner Redefine Properties Limited, a South-African based Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT). The transaction is Madison’s first major logistics acquisition in Europe as it looks to increase its exposure to the asset class.

M7 Real Estate has sold three assets in Poland, on behalf of an M7 vehicle, PVBRI. Two office buildings in Poznan has been sold to local investors, while a shopping centre located in Zgorzelec has been acquired by DL Invest Group.

Union Investment has agreed to acquire two planned hotel properties in Kraków and Katowice with a total of 527 rooms. The developer, vendor and future operator of the two midscale hotels, which are scheduled for completion in autumn 2021, is UBM. The purchase price of the ibis Styles-branded hotel in Kraków and Mercure-branded hotel in Katowice is approximately €86 million in total. Both leases run for 25 years.

Invesco Real Estate has sold two build-to-suit distribution centres in Poland totalling 105,000 sqm to Chinese investment company CGL Investment Holdings Corporation. The sale was made on behalf of Invesco’s strategic opportunities investment programme and the corporate transaction has set new records for the market with assets valued based on a record yield for the Polish logistics market of 4.25%. The purchase price was not disclosed.

Poland's retail market is seeing a slowdown in the pace of shopping centre construction, the growing popularity of the convenience segment and mixed-use projects, as well as further synergy of traditional shopping and technology, according to JLL’s market summary for 2019.