Kraków has nearly doubled its office stock over the last four years, becoming the largest and fastest-growing regional city office market in Poland, according to a new report by Savills.

Savills has been appointed as sole letting agent for office space in the three buildings of Business Garden Wrocław, owned by the ISOC Group. Savills has also been the property manager for the first phase of the project since mid-2019.

The total stock of coworking and flexible office space in Prague reached 75,000 sqm by the end of 2019, as eight new centres opened their doors to take the total number to 59, according to the latest Savills research. Similar growth of the flexible office space sector is expected in 2020, which would take the total stock to almost 100,000 sqm.

Almost 800,000 sqm of office space is currently under construction in Warsaw of which approx. 55% will be delivered in 2020, according to the latest Savills research. The capital city of Poland continues to be a big construction site, mostly due to very strong demand for the office space with its record-high levels recorded in 2019.

Savills has been appointed as sole adviser to M7 Real Estate for the fund’s entire office portfolio. Savills will be responsible for office space leasing and property management. The portfolio comprises a total of approximately 73,500 sqm across seven buildings located in four cities: Warsaw, Krakow, Wroclaw and Katowice.

Savills World Research says that offices in core city markets around the world will be real estate investors’ focus in 2020, but with opportunities scarce and yields at record lows, many will be forced to look elsewhere. Alternative assets, such as student housing, multi-family, co-living and data centres, will therefore become increasingly mainstream. Globally, Savills says that securing income returns will remain the overarching theme for real estate investment in 2020.

Star Capital Investments has acquired Lighthouse Towers, a Class A office building in Prague 7’s thriving Holešovice district. The seller was Deka Immobilien. The property comprises two stand-alone buildings joined at the underground parking level, where 360 parking spaces are provided.

Patrizia Immobilien AG has sold the Feniks office building in Warsaw to a South Korean investor via Warburg-HIH Invest Real Estate. Savills advised the buyer in the transaction.

Another excellent year for the investment market, record office lease transactions in Warsaw and the burgeoning growth of alternative asset classes - these are some of the Polish commercial property market highlights of 2019. Savills forecasts that next year the market’s performance will depend on the health of the global economy, and key developments will include the completion of spectacular office towers and mixed-use projects.

European office take-up is forecast to reach 9.2 million sqm by the end of 2019, down 4% from 2018’s end-year volume. Prague is expected to exceed that decline, with take-up predicted to fall by 22% to 400,000 sqm as demand for office space in the Czech capital continues the downward trend that began in Q2, according to the latest Savills research.