JLL appointed of Robert Sztemberg as Business Development Director at JLL’s Capital Markets Department, which specializes in providing investment advisory services on commercial real estate sales and acquisitions, from large offices and retail centers to industrial portfolios and hotels.

Tri-City is becoming increasingly popular amongst global players looking for optimal location conducive to further business development. Furthermore, the growing business image of the region is contributing to a great deal of interest in office space and boosting developer activity on the local market. JLL estimates that by 2021 the total office stock in the Tri-City area may exceed 1 million sqm.

Prologis celebrated the topping out of the first facility at its new Prologis Park Łódź. The roof progress means construction of the 16,500 square meter building is on track for completion in early 2019. The park has the development potential for three facilities totalling 93,000 square meters.

Skanska has sold the first phase of the Spark office complex in Warsaw to a real estate fund of KGAL Investment Management GmbH & Co. KG, a leading German independent investment and asset manager. This is not only the buyer's first acquisition with Skanska, it is also the fund's first investment in the Polish office market.

Following a thorough revitalisation process carried out under the strict supervision of the conservator-restorer, Koneser has been restored to its former glory. The joint investment of the Liebrecht &wooD Group and BBI Development envisaged bringing the former Warsaw Vodka Distillery back to life and giving it back to Warsaw. A multifunctional lifestyle centre was established on an area spanning 5 ha in Warsaw’s Old Praga.

Before 2016 nearly all transactions related to the acquisition of property in Poland were conducted in the form of asset deals. By now, share deals have become a popular alternative. Sylwia Toczyska, Director of Client Services at Vistra Poland talked to Property Forum about the current structure of transactions concluded in Poland.

Metro Properties, the real estate subsidiary of Metro AG, has sold a property in Poznań with a retail building under a long-term lease to Castorama to French investor Corum Asset Management. The purchase price amounted to €20.3 million.

Zeitgeist Asset Management has purchased an office building at ul. Solec 22 in Warsaw and intends to convert into student halls. The office building has been acquired for a German pension fund from Solec 22 z.o.o.

In the first half of 2018, the total volume of modern office space at the main regional markets (Kraków, Wrocław, Tricity, Katowice, Poznań, Łódź, Szczecin and Lublin) exceeded 4,637,000 sqm. Analysts of Cushman & Wakefield report a high absorption level caused by intensified lessee activity in 2017 and pre-rental agreements of office real estate which is to enter the market this year. As a result, despite a large spike in office space supply, the vacancy rate has gone down.

Alicja Zajler joined Colliers International as Director in the Valuation and Advisory Department. Together with Ewa Czarnecka, Senior Partner and Director, Alicja will manage the department and set the course for its development.