The rapid growth of e-commerce is unlikely to put an end to existence of physical stores. Both online and offline platforms will co-exist, becoming increasingly intertwined. However, in-store technology innovations will change shopper behaviours in shopping centres. These are the key findings revealed in the Retail Revolutions report by Savills.

Knight Frank was appointed sole agent to commercialise V.Offices – a project currently under construction by AFI Europe in Kraków – and buildings B and C of the Sportowa Centrum office complex in Gdynia. Knight Frank has also been appointed property manager of the Lobos office building in Kraków, a property is owned by the Lobos Group.

In February, Warimpex announced the sale of a portfolio of eight hotels to the Thai investor U City. On 31 May, the transaction was successfully closed. Warimpex has taken advantage of this positive momentum on the CEE hotel investment market with this portfolio deal and is set to strengthen its capital structure and to position itself for new development projects.

Echo Polska Properties (EPP) and Echo Investment have finalised the purchase of shares in the Galeria Młociny shopping centre in Warsaw, which is under construction. EPP is its majority shareholder (70%) and it will manage the completed asset whereas Echo Investment holds the remaining 30%, it is to finish the construction process and will be responsible for the commercialisation and marketing of the project.

Calioppe Investments has acquired the scheme from Rank Progress, a Warsaw Stock Exchange listed company engaged in the property investment and development sector. The total value of the transaction amounts to €26.7 million including €15.2 million of debt financing. The seller has been advised by BNP Paribas Real Estate.

Panattoni Europe commenced the construction of a large-scale logistics centre for BSH Sprzęt Gospodarstwa Domowego. The BTS (built-to-suit) facility with 79,000 sqm and its own railway siding will be delivered in Łódź. The groundbreaking ceremony took place on 30 May, and construction works are scheduled for completion in spring 2018.

In Q1 2017, Poland’s total Class A warehouse stock topped 11,613,000 sqm following the completion of nearly 533,000 sqm. Total take-up hit 925,000 sqm, representing a 45% increase, as revealed by Cushman & Wakefield in its latest report.

Investment flows into the CEE region rose 70% year-on-year in Q1 2017. The level of €2.8 billion is some €0.5 billion higher than the preliminary estimate of €2.3 billion Colliers International published at the beginning of April. Money invested into the Czech Republic  (56% share) and Hungary (19% share) contributed particularly to the significant jump. Looking within the numbers, the retail sector accounted for nearly half (47%) of the flows, leaving the office sector trailing with a 21% share. Of interest and also a sign of buoyant economic growth, the fastest growth was seen in the hotel sector with a portfolio transaction contributing to the €415mn total (a 15% share). 

PZU’s office building in Wrocław – Komandorska 12 – has been recognized with an LEED Gold certificate. The building includes systems that control water, heat and energy consumption. Furthermore, its architecture ensures access to natural daylight on 80% of floor space. 

Poland’s industrial and warehouse sector recorded the strongest first quarter in its history. Schemes with the total area of 592,000 sqm were delivered to the market between January and the end of March, which represents as much as 45% of the total volume of 2016. BNP Paribas Real Estate highlights that the invariable driving force behind the market’s growth for the past several quarters have been businesses from the e-commerce sector.