Cushman & Wakefield has summarised the situation on the Polish retail market. The opening of 2024 is encouraging and new retail space supply in the coming months is likely to match or even surpass last year’s total. The Polish market continues to attract interest from new brands, borne out by several debuts. More arrivals are expected to follow amid improving retail sales, rising shopping centre footfall and turnover levels as inflation is weakening.

Panattoni has finished the last stage of Panattoni Park Sulechów III. The centre has been developed for BestSecret clothing distributor. The building has a total area of 136,000 sqm, which makes it one of the largest logistics centres in the region.

Renewable energy companies announcing new large-scale projects in the north of Poland will need large spaces for storing components of solar and wind farms. Such tenants report sector-specific requirements, which may incentivise developers to build differently, says Michał Rafałowicz, Regional Director, Newmark Polska.

Panattoni has built another investment in Lesser Poland. City Logistics Kraków Airport II is located near the Kraków-Balice International Airport, where a new cargo terminal is being constructed. The facility is suitable for e-commerce and last-mile logistics. The investment was made on a speculative basis and already has its first tenant - Allegro.

Futureal Investment Partners, a member of Futureal Group, has finalized the ESG repositioning of its Wratislavia Tower in Wrocław, Poland. During the process, the building also received a BREEAM Excellent in-use certificate. The retrofitting project followed Futureal's "Office Impact Strategy," whereby older office buildings are being redeveloped to meet modern ESG market standards.

Warehouse developer LemonTree has joined the United Nations Global Compact initiative under the aegis of the UN. This initiative aims to support companies in implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals. At the same time, LemonTree joined the Climate Positive programme, which implements the climate goals set by the UN.

Panattoni has launched the construction of Panattoni Park Ruda Śląska IV. The new project will comprise 30,000 sqm and at the start a major tenant has already been found with midocean to lease 20,000 sqm of storage space including an extension option for a further 10,000 sqm.

Mitiska REIM has announced the sale of a 6.7ha land plot in Gliwice (Silesia, Poland) to Momentum Leisure to develop a theme and water park at Europa Centralna retail centrre The price has not been disclosed. 

Tomasz Dąbrowski has been promoted to the position of Managing Director of Zeitgeist Asset Management in Poland. As of 1 April, he is responsible for the development of PRS products and the implementation of multi-phase mixed-use projects.

More than 60% of Polish consumers do their larger grocery shopping in excess of PLN 100 in discount stores. A similar proportion of people in Poland opt for shopping centres on account of their entertainment offer, while nearly 40% go to retail parks which they value for familiarity with space layouts - a guarantee of a quick and easy shopping trip. According to the latest report from Cushman & Wakefield, Polish people have clearly defined expectations about each retail format, with each likely to respond to different shopping and other needs.