Penta Investments closed 2017 with a profit of €236 million and its portfolio companies' total assets grew by 6 % to €9 billion. Fortuna, Dr.Max , Prima banka and Privatbanka were the most profitable companies, Penta Real Estate's development activities also contributed to the success. The largest expenditure was allocated for investment in the retail, real estate, healthcare and manufacturing sectors.

After the recent start of construction works at LiNK Hradec Králové Linkcity has announced the launch of another project. The developer has received a planning permit for a logistics park in the industrial zone Nitra – Lužianky, located near the R1 motorway in Slovakia.

M7 Real Estate, a pan-European real estate investor and specialist asset manager, has agreed on a number of transactions as part of its proactive asset management programme on behalf of Vector Parks. Vector Parks comprises a portfolio of industrial and office assets located in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Over the last six months, M7 has completed six new lettings and four renewals totalling over 20,500 sqm with predominantly anchor tenants.

REICO investiční společnost České spořitelny, a.s. has acquired, on behalf of the ČS nemovitostní fond, their first prime industrial asset in Slovakia from developer and investor Invest4SEE Investment Holding GmbH. JLL advised REICO IS ČS on their first industrial acquisition in Slovakia with a transaction value of €38.9 million.

In 2018 we are likely to see new investors entering the region. However, at a time when the global allocation of capital is changing rapidly, it can be difficult to identify where a new investor is coming from. Marián Fridrich, Head of Transactions at IAD Investments talked market expectations and investment strategy.

Prologis announced several promotions at its Czech and Slovak offices. Martin Baláž has been promoted to Vice President of Development and Leasing at Prologis Czech Republic and Slovakia; Václav Krasanovský has been promoted to Vice President of Property Management at Prologis Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary; Martin Stratov moves up to the position of Director of Development and Leasing at Prologis Slovakia. The promotion of Kateřina Březinová to Leasing Manager at Prologis Czech Republic completes this promotion round.

Marian Herman has become the new Chief Executive of HB Reavis Group with immediate effect. Marian moves into the role from his position as Group Chief Financial Officer and Board Member of HB Reavis. He has been with the company for more than eight years.

Market players are highly optimistic about the future of CEE investments, but finding the right quality product can be a tough challenge. Our summary of Bratislava Property Forum 2018, co-organised by Property Forum and RICS.

The year 2017 saw the greatest amount of industrial space built in Europe in its history – more than 3.7 million sqm. This represents a 68% increase over 2016 and a 55% increase over the existing record dating back to 2007 (an additional 1.2 million sqm). The total industrial space in the region has increased by 17% as a result. Such are the results of a survey conducted by Cushman & Wakefield, a company that has been monitoring the industrial property market in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary and Romania on a long-term basis.

2017 was not the strongest year for Slovakia’s investment market but if all goes well we might see the previous record of €850 million being broken this year. Peter Nitschneider, Country Manager for Slovakia at JLL shared his expectations for the Slovak property investment market.