In the last quarter alone South African investors have spent €1 billion in CEE and it is most likely that they won’t stop chasing higher yields anytime soon. Even though investments in Central and Eastern Europe are generally considered risky by European standards, coming from other parts of the world opportunities in the region may seem rather safe. We report from CEE Property Forum 2016, co-organised by Portfolio Property Forum and RICS, where over 300 visitors and 70 speakers came together to discuss the most pressing issues concerning regional investment markets.

The Polish branch of Berner, a European direct seller, has signed a lease for more than 2,900 sqm of warehouse and office space in Panattoni Park Kraków III. The developer Panattoni was represented by Cushman & Wakefield.

Altium, an Australian owned international IT company, will launch its first office in Poland. The company has selected Silesia Business Park office complex in Katowice for its Poland-based operations. Altium has leased nearly 770 sqm of office space in the complex developed by Skanska Property Poland.

TriGranit has completed the sale of Bonarka City Center (BCC) in Krakow to Rockcastle, a property company specializing in retail centres in Central and Eastern Europe. TriGranit, which is owned by TPG Real Estate and was the developer of the shopping centre, will remain the property manager for two years. In addition to managing BCC, TriGranit will remain active in Krakow and is currently developing three office buildings in the ‘Bonarka for Business’ (B4B) area.

Panattoni Europe has announced the lease of three warehouse facilities totalling 42,526 sqm by Raben Logistics Polska. The investment will be carried out at Panattoni Park Grodzisk III. The developer has also recently started the construction of a BTS logistics centre for Sanden Manufacturing Poland in Polkowice, comprising approx. 6,500 sqm.

pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank, Helaba and ING Bank have jointly underwritten an investment facility, totalling €163.6 million, to refinance Karolinka, Pogoria and Platan Shopping Centres in Poland. The assets are owned by Rockcastle Global Real Estate Company Limited. The transaction closed in September 2016. pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank, Helaba and ING Bank are acting as Joint Lead Arrangers providing equal portions of the funding, with pbb acting as facility and security agent of the transaction. 

At the end of H1 2016, Poland’s office stock totalled 8.7 million sqm. Warsaw remains the largest office market with Kraków, Wrocław and Tricity becoming major regional office hubs. Nearly 572,000 sqm of modern office space was delivered onto the Polish market in H1 2016, setting a new semi-annual record. Cushman & Wakefield its newest report, Property Times: Office Market In A Growth Phase.

Neinver, a Spanish developer, investor, property and fund manager, has entered into an agreement with Carrefour Polska to manage the Metropolitan Outlet in Bydgoszcz. The outlet centre, scheduled to open in spring 2018 will be the first and only retail centre of this kind in the Kujawsko-Pomorskie province.

International real estate developer HB Reavis has signed a preliminary sale agreement to sell two of its buildings, situated in Warsaw, to Savills Investment Management on behalf of a Global Pension Fund client. In one of the largest transactions of the year in Poland and also in Central and Eastern Europe amounting to €186 million, Savills Investment Management has acquired buildings A and B of the Gdanski Business Center in Warsaw, totalling 48,000 sqm.

The Dominikański office building, developed in Wrocław by Skanska Property Poland, has been recognized with LEED certification's highest level - Platinum. This is the second office complex in Lower Silesia's capital to “go platinum” in compliance with the most demanding office certification system in Poland. The first complex - Green Towers – was also developed by Skanska. The certification process for Dominikański was supported by Go4Energy. The building is owned by a fund managed by Union Investment Real Estate GmbH based in Hamburg.