Austrian privately held development company Karimpol Group officially launched the construction of the Squarebizz project in Bratislava. The first phase consists of 15,000 sqm of retail, storage, service and showroom facilities accompanied by up to 2,000 sqm of offices in three separate buildings. A second construction phase will extend the Squarebizz Bory by another 15,000 sqm of modern flexible space plus offices.

Companies from the BPO sector may be reducing their offices in North America or Western Europe, but they are taking up more space in CEE at the same time. Yovav Carmi, CEO of GTC talked to Property Forum about issuing green bonds, ESG strategies and the BPO industry.

Domestic investors own some of the largest office projects that are under development in Romania, although international players have the biggest portfolios in the market. 

The topping out ceremony was held on June 24th at the construction site of Galeria Andrychów – the largest retail park in the region and one of major retail developments currently under construction in Poland. The event was attended by local authorities, investors - Acteeum Group and Equilis Europe, as well as retailers and business partners.

French real estate group Catinvest says it obtained the building permits to start the expansion of Craiova-based Electroputere Mall. The company will extent the food court with five new restaurants and add 5,500 sqm of retail spaces. 

Real estate services platform Novaston was an exclusive support agent in the sales process of two retail properties in Serbia between two influential investors in the Balkan region: NEPI Rockcastle and BIG CEE. The binding agreement with the total consideration of the approx. €61 million euros for retail properties Kragujevac Plaza Shopping mall (with a GLA of 22,300 sqm) and Krusevac retail park (with a GLA of 8,600 sqm) was signed in June.

What is most important to shopping centre visitors post-pandemic? Being able to shop in-store without having to rely on the internet and to make spontaneous, unplanned purchases is at the top of the list, shows the latest consumer survey commissioned by Cushman & Wakefield. Being able to participate in events held in shopping centres and access to fitness facilities were rated as least important.

In the first month of operation of the HalfPrice chain in Poland, it was visited by over 500 thousand. customers. Currently, 13 stores operate under this brand, including the newest flagship store in the Warsaw department store. CCC Group decided to accelerate the opening of points under the HalfPrice banner outside Poland. The car showroom in Hungary will make its debut in August. Soon, customers in Austria and the Czech Republic will also be able to shop in the new network. A total of 65 stores will be opened in Poland and Europe by the end of the year.

LCP Group, the owner of Galeria Emka in Koszalin, is about to start the next stage of the EMKA II, the extension of the existing shopping centre.

Regardless of the problems that the measures related to the coronavirus crisis have brought to the retail segment – with shops in Czechia closed for 234 days, the longest period in all of Europe – new brands keep coming to the local market. Nine of them have arrived or will arrive during the first half of the year, the most prominent one of them being Ireland’s Primark fashion chain whose shop opening was expected with a great deal of anticipation.