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.

Panattoni Europe has launched a new project, Panattoni Park Bielsko-Biała III, which is with close to 68,500 sqm is the largest investment project in the Podbeskidzie region. The complex has already secured its first tenants, including Seifert Logistics Group (7,500 sqm) and an interior design company (3,600 sqm), who will be able to move into the facility in spring 2019.

Real estate professionals surveyed by the RICS in Q2 2018 now believe that the Czech investment market has reached the peak of the current cycle while the Hungarian and Polish markets are also close to peaking. Nevertheless, market sentiment is still positive on both the occupier and investment market in all CEE countries monitored by the RICS Commercial Property Monitor, including Croatia and Romania.

At the end of September or in early October, the Accolade Fund will exceed the symbolic mark 500,000 sqm of fully occupied rental space for light industry, e-commerce and logistics. This will move the Fund closer to another magical mark: CZK 10 billion worth of properties under its management. If all pending transactions are taken into account, the Fund’s rental property portfolio will increase to 515,000 sqm, worth in total €351.5 million, which is more than CZK 9 billion.