Eight regionally renowned experts discussed real estate investment strategies for the post-COVID-19 world at the online edition of CEE Property Forum 2020, organised by Property Forum and RICS. We summarised the highlights of the discussion, moderated by Luke Dawson, Managing Director & Head of Capital Markets CEE at Colliers International.

JLL announced the first edition of the Sofia City Report, a semiannual publication which provides a detailed view of specific real estate markets in Sofia: office, retail and warehouses. It offers information on the economic situation in Bulgaria, including the investment climate. The report was made with the support of IPC Partners Bulgaria.

Trei Real Estate GmbH is about to open its 19th retail park under the Vendo Park brand in Poland. The retail property is located in Czestochowa in the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland. With a population of around 230,000 residents, it is the second-largest city in Silesia. It lies a car ride of roughly three hours south-west of Warsaw on the River Warta. The new Vendo Park, one of the largest retail parks in Trei’s portfolio, has a lettable area of around 8,200 square metres and a tenant base of 13 retailers. The amount that Trei invested in the asset approximates €11.9 million.

Czech investment group Portiva and Micronix have acquired the Central Kladno shopping centre in Brno from Crestyl for approximately €74.8 million (CZK 2 billion).

Polish company Scallier, which is developing a chain of retail parks in Romania under the brand name Funshop Park, has decided to choose BREEAM as the certification system for newly built schemes. Gleeds, one of the world’s largest companies operating in the construction consultancy market, is responsible for the certification process as well as project and cost management services. By 2022, Scallier plans to deliver 6 assets under the Funshop Park brand, which will offer a total of 40,000 sqm of modern retail space (GLA). Further projects are in the preparatory stage.

A new report from Savills indicates that an integrated omnichannel strategy will lead the way as the European retail sector returns to a new normal.

The SES-operated shopping centre Weberzeile located in Ried, Upper Austria, now generates its own environmentally friendly solar power, which is also the case at SES shopping centre Murpark in Graz. Last week, SES Spar European Shopping Centers commenced operation of a 520-kWp photovoltaic rooftop installation, which produces approximately 500,000 kilowatt-hours of clean electricity per year for its own use and reduces CO2 emissions by 128 tons. The photovoltaic system installed atop Weberzeile is the largest to be mounted by SES to date and is the benchmark for the installation of solar power systems on the roofs of other SES shopping centres throughout Austria.

Retail parks have been the biggest beneficiaries of the structural retail changes in Poland over the last ten years. Their number has doubled and increased their share in total retail stock by 4 pps. In H1 2020, developers completed nearly 148,000 sqm of modern retail space in large scale projects (GLA>5,000 sqm). Of this new supply, 67% was delivered in the shape of eight new retail parks and three extensions of existing schemes. Almost 450,000 sqm of GLA is still under construction with initial completion dates set for 2020 and 2021. Retail parks account for nearly 26% of this volume. JLL and Trei Real Estate Poland summarised the situation regarding these projects at the end of H1 2020, and outlined the development prospects for this commercial real estate sector in Poland.

Austrian developer Supernova has laid the foundation stone for a €70 million project aimed at the expansion of the Supernova Ljubljana Rudnik shopping centre in Ljubljana. Upon the completion of the project, Supernova Ljubljana Rudnik will become the biggest shopping centre in Slovenia.

Fashion House Group has appointed retail veteran Cornelia Nicolae to the position of Retail Operations Director in Bucharest. In the newly created role, Cornelia will be responsible for launching the Group’s new flagship development, its second in Bucharest, while continuing to drive footfall and sales at its established outlet centre in the capital.