Savills has appointed Ben Maudling to head up its Czech Republic and Slovakia operations, in order to support the company’s continued expansion across Central Eastern Europe (CEE). 

TriGranit, celebrating its 20th anniversary in business in 2017, will this year launch its newest development in Budapest, the Millennium Gardens office building that will provide 37,000 sqm GLA for future tenants from H2 2019 on the banks of the Danube, next to MÜPA and the prospective Congress Centre. In 2017, the company also plans to start the development of Building H, the eighth building in its office complex in Krakow, Bonarka for Business (B4B), providing 10,000 sqm GLA, and plans to start the second phase of Lakeside Park in Slovakia with 13,000 sqm GLA. 

The amount of industrial space leased in key Central and Eastern European markets in 2016 was the largest ever recorded, totalling 5.7 million sqm. This represents a 25% increase over the preceding two years when about 4.5 million sqm was leased. The strong take-up among tenants was linked with an extensive new development at 2.2 million sqm. The findings are based on the research conducted by Cushman & Wakefield, which has been monitoring the industrial property market in the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia over an extended period.

ČS Real Estate fund, the largest and oldest Czech open-ended property fund, managed by REICO, has acquired the Park One office building in Bratislava for €35.6 million from private investment firm Falcon II Fund. 

Martin Hudak has been promoted to the position of Head of Industrial Agency at Cushman & Wakefield in Slovakia.

JLL has appointed Miroslav Barnas as Country Manager of its Czech Republic business, which is headquartered in Prague, with immediate effect. He will lead the Czech business alongside his existing responsibilities as Country Manager for JLL's business in Slovakia.

2016 reached the volume of €11.8bn in investment markets across Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania, according to a research report by Colliers International. Aside from Poland, investment flows in 2017 will be close to or higher than 2016’s.  The retail sector might see continued rental growth and high investment levels across the region.

Slovak investor IAD Investments, acting through its fund Prvý realitný fond o.p.f., has purchased Laugaricio Shopping Centre in Trenčín, Slovakia. The original owners were private investors represented by Mint Investments. This sale, the largest property transaction in Slovakia this year, was brokered by Cushman & Wakefield. 

HB Reavis has sold Twin City A, a modern office building located in close proximity to Bratislava city centre in Slovakia, to Prvý realitný fund (PRF), managed by IAD Investments with a transaction yield of 6.5%. The building, located in the Mlynske Nivy business district of Bratislava, was completed in 2015 and offers approximately 16,500 sqm of leasable space, which is fully let to a number of tenants, including PWC, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Bayer, BNP Paribas Slovensko and Sfera.

Austrian and Romanian real estate developer Invest4SEE has announced the development of a 91,216 sqm warehouse in Dubnica nad Vahom, Slovakia. Invest4SEE Industrial Park Dubnica will spread over 20 hectares.