Signal Capital Partners, UK-based private asset management firm, along with Griffin Capital Partners and Echo Investment will, subject to anti-monopoly clearance, launch a new student housing platform. The new joint venture is aiming to develop, as a first step, an operating portfolio of 5,000 purpose-built student beds across key academic cities in Poland over the next three to five years.

John Palmer, Partner Associate, Real Estate Advisory at Deloitte Poland, talked to Property Forum about the rapidly changing landscape of the land development market in Poland and its current attractiveness to foreign investors.

Real estate advisory firm Avison Young announced the promotion of Michał Ćwikliński as Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) Regional Managing Director, effective immediately. In this newly created role, Ćwikliński will work closely with Avison Young’s Country Management teams to oversee and assist business development, sales management, and strategic initiatives across the EMEA region.

The Polish shopping centre market is now considered mature as many retail malls were built in the 1990s and 2000s, that is before the technological boom in energy efficiency and during a period of significantly lower awareness of the issue. A wave of upgrades is coming, but they will not happen overnight due to high levels of refurbishment expenditure required. In the face of rising challenges of energy and heat consumption, experts from Cushman & Wakefield managing a large and highly diverse portfolio of shopping centres and retail parks provide valuable insight into the results of their frequently innovative and low-cost measures.

Panattoni has recently started construction of another hall within Panattoni Park Ruda Śląska II. Now the company has secured financing for the investment. The €9.4 million loan was provided by Millennium Bank.

According to experts from BNP Paribas Real Estate Poland, Poland’s economic outlook remains stable but the global geopolitical situation and high interest rates across Europe continue to hamper a quick rebound in commercial property trading and large-scale transactions. Last year’s results confirmed a fall in liquidity for the CRE sector in Poland.

Murapol - one of the largest developers has started a cooperation with EPP - the largest shopping centre manager in the country. They plan to establish joint ventures. They have notified the UOKiK (Office of Competition and Consumer Protection) of their intention to concentrate.

Panattoni continues its investments in the East of Poland with the handover of another development in the Lublin region. The first tenants are now starting their operations in Panattoni Park Lublin IV.

Jarosław Fiutowski, Member of the Board responsible for ESG strategy and innovation at Ghelamco Poland, talked to Property Forum about the renewable energy in office buildings,  the awareness of ESG issues among tenants and the related stance of Western investment funds.

In 2023, Central Europe’s commercial real estate market faced a notable decline in investment volumes. Dropping by 55% year on year, the region’s total investment volume accounted for €5.02 billion. Of the six countries surveyed by Cushman & Wakefield, Poland experienced the most significant downturn of 68%, with its share of the total CEE volume also dropping. The highest proportion of the capital went into the office sector, which also recorded the sharpest outward movement in terms of yields. Local and regional investors accounted for two-thirds of the investment transaction volumes, a significant increase from the previous years. Despite challenges, the market demonstrates resilience, particularly in the logistics and residential sectors, spotlighting areas of growth potential.