One of the largest real estate transactions of the last 5 years on the CEE market was inked in Belgrade this year and the Serbian capital is attracting further investor interest. Srdjan Teofilovic, Head of Capital Markets & Investor Services at CBS International, member of the Cushman and Wakefield Alliance, talked to Property Forum about the trends driving Serbia’s investment market.

Bluehouse Capital has sold the Point Shopping Center in Zagreb. CBS International, part of the Cushman & Wakefield Group, acted as advisor on the deal as an exclusive sales representative, ekapija.com reports. The buyer was Slovenian investor TRIGAL Alternative Investment Fund, the company announced on LinkedIn.

Meliá Hotels International is continuing on its development path throughout the Mediterranean and aims to take advantage of growth opportunities in Albania. After beginning its expansion plan in the country in 2017, Meliá has now announced its fourth hotel: the Sol Dürres Hotel, located in the second most important city in the country and one of its key tourism development centres. The company expects to open the hotel next year, and this will then be followed by the opening of three additional hotels: the Meliá Dürres, the Meliá Tirana and a third hotel in Dürres under the INNSiDE by Meliá brand. The company thus intends to introduce three of its brands and position itself as one of the leading international hotel operators in the country. 

After securing the largest commercial loan in over a decade on the Slovenian real estate market, Bratislava-based developer Corwin has realised the first drawdown for the residential project Kvartet.

Croatia’s commercial real estate investment volume exceeded €290 million in H1 2021, according to a new report by Colliers.

Belgrade Waterfront developer Eagle Hills has completed structural works on Kula Belgrade. With 168 metres, 42 levels and a total area of about 50,000 sqm, the tower is the tallest building in Serbia and the region.

In the first year of the pandemic, the construction market of the SEE region as a whole remained in the positive, and further expansion is expected until 2023. The only exception is Bulgaria where a harsh transition is foreseen for 2023 when the 2014-2020 EU programming period ends financially. The massive growth experienced in the years before 2020 is not anticipated to return. around 3% growth is projected for 2021 and 2022, and a 3% drop for 2023. The countries with the largest cumulated growth on the forecast horizon are Croatia and Serbia, according to the Eastern European Construction Forecasting Association’s 2021 Summer Construction Forecast Report.

Radisson Hotel Group has announced the opening of Belgrade Art Hotel, a member of Radisson Individuals, located in the heart of the old city. This opening marks the debut of the Radisson Individuals brand, a conversion solution recently launched in Europe in Q4 2020 and complements the existing Radisson Collection Hotel in Serbia's capital city.

M7 Real Estate announced the acquisition of two modern urban logistics assets, both on Slavonska Avenue, Zagreb, Croatia, on behalf of M7 CEREF II.

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.