Saying goodbye to 2022 means welcoming a year of uncertainty for the fourth time in a row. Two pandemic years, war in Ukraine, historically high inflation and the upcoming spectre of recession have forced the Polish investment market to cope with tough times, says Avison Young Poland

Primark's first Hungarian store which will be opened in NEPI Rockcastle's Arena Mall shopping centre in Budapest is part of the ongoing expansion of the global retail chain.

Trei Real Estate, an international developer and asset manager for residential and retail real estate, has raised €40 million in debt funding from Berlin Hyp mortgage bank. The funds will be disbursed in two tranches: The first tranche in the amount of €27.8 million was paid out in December 2022, with the second tranche in the amount of €12.2 million to follow by December 2023. The loan has a five-year maturity and was collateralized with eight retail parks of the company’s Vendo Park brand in Poland. The properties were completed during the past twelve months or else will be completed in the course of 2023. The debt capital is earmarked for the construction of additional Vendo Parks in Poland as well as for further residential developments in Germany and Poland.

Focus Estate Fund is expanding its operations in Poland with the acquisition of Ferio Legnica (a shopping centre in the city of Legnica in southwestern Poland) from Austria's Raiffeisen Bank International. CBRE represented the seller in the transaction. Czabański & Gałuszyński together with Gleeds and KKLW advised the buyer. The price has not been disclosed.

The historic building will offer 4,600 sqm of office and 340 sqm of retail space in the very heart of the Hungarian capital. The opening is expected at the end of January.

Some 100,000 sqm of new retail spaces were delivered last year in Romania, of which 80% were integrated in retail parks, while new projects with a leasable area of around 230,000 sqm are expected in 2023, which would be a 6-year high, according to Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.

Property group NEPI Rockcastle, the largest owner of shopping centres in Romania, has secured a green loan totalling €‎60 million for Ploiești Shopping City from a syndicate of banks. 

Vastint has received a permit for the renovation with change of function of the first three historical buildings in the Stara Rzeźnia complex in Poznań in Poland. As part of the work, they will be restored and transformed into office buildings. The plan to revitalize the rest of Stara Rzeźnia is currently the subject of public consultations organized by the City of Poznań authorities as part of the procedure for adopting a local plan.

Colliers has prepared a report that comprehensively analyzes the role of mixed-use projects in Polish cities – in terms of investment, architecture, and city-forming functions.

Commercial property investment in Romania totaled €1.25 billion in 2022, up 40% compared to the previous years, of which the biggest single deal was Pavăl Holding’s acquisition of CA Immo’s office portfolio for €600 million, according to real estate consultancy JLL România. Last year's result was the biggest since 2008.