Union Investment has expanded its Polish shopping centre portfolio by making its first investment of this kind in Wrocław. The latest addition to open-ended real estate fund Unilmmo: Europa is Magnolia Park, which comprises some 100,000 sqm of retail space. Sold to Union Investment by Blackstone for around €380 million, the shopping centre is almost fully let, with leases having an average of 4.2 years to run. The shopping centre will continue to be managed by Multi after the sale. Cushman & Wakefield advised Union Investment on the transaction.

Tricity is the third largest regional market in Poland, after Krakow and Wrocław, in terms of office stock, now at 693,000 sqm. Absorption set a new high of 62,600 sqm in the first three quarters of 2017, compared to the five-year average of less than 39,000 sqm, says Cresa in its latest report.

The Board of Directors of TK Development has decided that going forward, property development activities will be confined to the Danish and Swedish markets, and the activities in Poland will be divested.

London is currently Europe’s leading financial and banking services hub, but it may lose some of its appeal for businesses targeting the European Union following Brexit. Some financial institutions will move their operations outside the UK. Frankfurt and Paris will definitely benefit, but Warsaw is also one of the contenders. Bolesław Kołodziejczyk, PhD, Head of Research & Advisory, Cresa Poland analysed the potential impact of the UK’s departure from the European Union on the Polish market.

Panattoni Europe is to build a factory for Ontex, a Belgian producer of personal hygiene products. The facility featuring in excess of 26,000 sqm will be located in Radomsko, within the Łódź Special Economic Zone (ŁSSE). Construction works are about to begin in early December and are scheduled to end in July 2018.

NewWork, a serviced offices operator from Hungary, opened their first location in Poland. 3,200 sqm of flexible office space is now available in Warsaw's Wilanów in Wilanów Office Park. NewWork plans to continue their expansion in the Polish capital city and open another 10,000 sqm of serviced office space by the end of 2018.

Globalworth announced the successful completion of the non-pre-emptive placing of new ordinary shares. A total of 38.9 million new ordinary shares in the company have been placed by Jefferies International Limited at a price of €8.75 per placing share, raising total gross proceeds of €340 million, in excess of the company's target and oversubscribed at this level.

After the first three quarters of 2017 the warehouse market continues to be the fastest and most dynamically growing commercial property sector in Poland. According to the latest report by BNP Paribas Real Estate Poland, since the beginning of the year the total volume of modern warehouse space has increased by 13.6%. Q3 2017 was dominated by Szczecin with the completion and delivery of the country’s largest warehouse scheme: Panattoni BTS Amazon Szczecin, with the area in excess of 161,000 sqm.

GTC S.A. signed a €46.5 million new loan agreement with BZ WBK for refinancing of Korona Office Complex. The complex offers about 36,800 sqm GLA in Kraków.

2017 has not ended yet, but it is safe to say that it has been a record year for the CEE property market. The period of strong growth is not over yet, market sentiment is positive and all signs point to 2018 bringing new opportunities for expansion in the property business. In times like these it is especially important to find the time to share knowledge and make new connections, which is why Property Forum will continue to provide a meeting point for the CEE property industry. In 2018 Property Forum events will be held in Bratislava, Bucharest, Prague, Vienna and – for the first time – in Warsaw.