Investment into Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries (excluding Russia) for Q1 2016 registered a slight decrease (6%) compared to the same period of last year, reaching €1.84 billion, CBRE’s research shows. Expectations are that for the entire year, investment volumes will reach and exceed the record volumes of 2015, with all CEE countries expected to perform strongly. 

Immofinanz raised the occupancy level in its office standing investments by roughly seven percentage points to nearly 82% by the end of the 2015/16 financial year (as of 30 April 2016). Rentals in the office segment totalled approx. 388,000 sqm, or 29% of the total area, according to preliminary numbers. Of this total, 307,000 sqm are located in standing investments and 81,000 sqm in development projects. Roughly 40% of the standing investment rentals represent new contracts or contract expansions, while the remaining 60% are contract extensions with existing tenants. 

Prologis has announced that it will deliver an additional 20,500 square metre facility for Mall.cz, an online consumer goods and electronics store at Prologis Park Prague-Jirny. The building is scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2016.

2015 has proven to be a turning point for both the Hungarian commercial property market and for Cushman & Wakefield, which has merged with DTZ. Adrian Limp MRICS, Head of Valuation & Advisory at Cushman & Wakefield Hungary talked to us about valuation practices in a recovering market.

Demand for industrial space lifted significantly in Q1 2016 in Budapest industrial markets and the hegemony of BTS projects has not broken yet. In the Budapest-South submarket vacancy rate dropped to 4.4% triggering two speculative projects, CBRE reports.

Atrium European Real Estate, owner and manager of shopping centres and retail real estate in Central and Eastern Europe has announced the appointment of Scott Abbey as Group Head of Leasing.

The continental European operation of Palmer Capital changed its shareholder structure and rebranded itself as Arcona Capital. 

International real estate developer HB Reavis bought the freehold interest in 61 Southwark Street from Aberdeen Asset Management for £44 million.

Prologis today celebrated the grand opening of a 25,414 square metre build-to-suit facility for BMW Group at Prologis Park Bratislava.

The vacancy rate in the Czech Republic industrial market reached 4.2%, having decreased by 96 bps since Q4 2015. The Industrial Research Forum has announced its final industrial market figures for Q1 2016.