Yareal has received the building permit to construct the first stage of the 65,000 sqm LIXA office complex. Yareal’s biggest office investment ever will co-create the business centre at Warsaw’s Daszyński roundabout.

Majority shareholder Lone Star (LSREF III GTC Investments B.V.) has informed developer Globe Trade Center (GTC) that it is considering the sale of entire 61.1 percent stake in the company. Lone Star appointed J.P.Morgan and UBS to assist them in this strategic review.

Panattoni Europe has completed the construction of two warehousing facilities with a total area of approximately 42,500 sqm for Raben Logistics Poland. The logistics’ new branch was built as a part of Panattoni Park Grodzisk III and is adapted to store approx. 50,000 pallets. The facility employs over 300 people and is able to serve over 85,000 shipments a day.

Panattoni Europe has completed the construction of a large-scale logistics centre for BSH Sprzęt Gospodarstwa Domowego. The 79,000-square-metre BTS facility with its own railway siding was delivered in Łódź, at the largest distribution complex in Poland, Central European Logistics Hub.

According to “Occupier Economics: Office Market in Łódź in 2017”, the latest report produced by Cresa, last year’s absorption rate for office buildings in Łódź hit a record high of 55,500 sqm. With office stock at 437,770 sqm, Łódź is Poland’s sixth largest regional office market. The city’s vacancy rate currently stands at 9.3% (up by 3.1 p.p. year-on-year).

Union Investment has acquired the Park Inn by Radisson Krakow, which opened in 2009. The transfer of rights and obligations with regard to the property is scheduled to take place by the end of May 2018. The 152-room hotel is located south of the Vistula river, close to the city centre and in the immediate vicinity of the modern ICE Congress Centre, where around 200 events are held every year. The vendor is a joint venture between subsidiaries of UBM Development AG and Lindorcenia Ltd. The Radisson Hotel Group manages the hotel and provides the brand name. The hotel is let on a long-term lease. The purchase price is approximately €26 million. Union Investment is acquiring the property for an institutional real estate fund.

The Focus Estate Fund has acquired Park Handlowy Eden (Galeria Eden), Zgorzelec (Poland). Focus intends to invest more than €1.5 million in repositioning the 8,500 sqm retail centre with the support of its partner in development and leasing, Młyn Retail Parks Sp. z o.o.

Savills has set up China Desk, a special section within its Warsaw-based Corporate Finance & Valuation department, dedicated to Chinese investors interested in the Polish commercial real estate market.

Skanska has sold the Green2Day building in Wroclaw, Poland, to the real estate fund manager Niam. It is the developer’s fifth office project in the city with its sixth – Nowy Targ – currently under construction.

Łódź is busy readying itself for an influx of new companies. The city is investing in its road and transport infrastructure as well as revitalizing some of the city's quarters. As a result, Łódź is attracting more investors.These include companies from the rapidly expanding business services sector which are fuelling the expansion of Łódź's office market. New office clusters are being developed throughout the city. In 2018, the city will gain another 45,000 sqm of modern space. However, the business services sector is not the only sector that is powering the city’s economy, according to JLL.