Investment sentiment among property companies has improved since the start of the pandemic and developers are adapting to emerging demands, suggested speakers during the post-COVID-19 investment and asset management strategies panel of SEE Property Forum 2021, Property Forum's annual event in Bucharest.

BIG Shopping Centers Ltd., the controlling shareholder (~95%) of BIG CEE, successfully raised NIS 205 million (approx. €55 million) by issuing secured bonds in the Israeli stock exchange by refinancing the following shopping centres: BIG Fashion Kragujevac, BIG Kruševac and BIG Fashion Outlet Inđija.

Belgrade Waterfront is adding one more residential building which will be its 24th. BW Eterna is a building with 223 residential units on six standard and two recessed floors. This building has apartments of different sizes and structures – from one to four-bedroom apartments.

In spring 2021, Hungarian FM provider B+N Referencia Zrt. acquired the interests of ISS Group in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania and Hungary.  With this move, the Hungarian company group has become one of the largest facility operators in the region. As a logical continuation of this expansion, the company purchased a 100% stake in the Slovenian subsidiary of ISS.

SAP is acquiring the newly built Class A office building Park Lane Office Center in Sofia for €49 million. The purchase price is equivalent to a 7.5% asset yield. This is the largest investment deal on the Bulgarian office property market so far in 2021

CTP has recently finalised two strategic acquisitions in Bulgaria as part of its two-year, €300 million expansion plan to further grow its presence in the country.

Lev Weiss has been appointed the new CEO of the BIG CEE Serbia.

The largest-ever office development in Slovenia is taking shape as Slovak developer Corwin has released new information, the official name and the first visualizations of their 40,000 sqm office-retail project on Vilharjeva street.

At the end of 2020, Porto Montenegro presented to the public its long-awaited project - the concept of an innovative, urban neighbourhood, Boka Place, which features a carefully planned space, with numerous gastronomic, shopping and entertainment facilities and many other benefits that will be available to Porto Montenegro residents as well as all visitors.

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.