Cushman & Wakefield has renewed and rebranded its exclusive arrangement with Forton as its affiliate in Bulgaria and Macedonia. The formal affiliate appointment follows the 2015 global merger of Cushman & Wakefield and DTZ. Forton has been Cushman & Wakefield’s partner since 2006. From today, Forton will rebrand as Cushman & Wakefield Forton.   

14 outlet centres operating in Poland eye the increasing competition which will force numerous of them to undergo qualitative changes, enhance their offer and improve operational performance. Along with increasing wealth of Polish consumers, the premium offer will grow in outlet centres, according to new report “Bargain hunting. Potential of outlet centres in Poland” released by Colliers International and IQS.

Skanska helps introduce the WELL Building Standard (WELL) to the market of Central and Eastern Europe. WELL is the preeminent building standard to focus on enhancing people’s health and well-being through the built environment. Spark is one of the first office buildings to pursue WELL Certification in Poland. Skanska will also apply for certification for its projects developed in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania.

Colliers has been appointed by FID Group as the Property Manager of Slovanský Dům and by B.H.Centrum a.s. as the Property Manager of Millennium which forms part of the complex including the Marriott Hotel. Both buildings are prime mixed-use properties situated in the heart of Prague’s CBD.

With an impressive 66% growth of retail sales per capita since 2004, Poland stands second to none in Europe. Over the past five years both the retail stock and the retail sales have been growing steadily at the level of 20% cumulatively, according to an analysis released by Cushman & Wakefield. Forecasts for the next decade show a further 40% growth of retail spending per capita, which demonstrates growing affluence of the Polish society.

While Western European investment markets have peaked and investment volumes are going down, CEE markets are having a strong momentum with volumes going up. This growth is most visible in the Czech Republic which posted its strongest Q1 figures on record this year. Over 20 speakers and more than 100 visitors came together in the Czech capital for the first ever Prague Property Summit, organised by Property Forum and RICS, to analyse the potential of the market from a global perspective. 

Wing is transforming the Material Center building in Budapest, which until now has operated as a shopping mall, into an office building. The building, which has an area of over 20,000 square metres, will be fully converted and renovated to a high standard, to be reborn as the Skylight City office centre. The preparatory works have already begun, and offices are already available for rental in the building.

Plaza Centers N.V. announced that Belgrade Plaza opened to the public on 20 April. The completed centre is 97% let and expected to be fully leased in the coming months. Belgrade Plaza is the 34th shopping centre built by Plaza and its second scheme in Serbia.

Europa Capital and WX Management Services have completed the acquisition of the Radisson Blu Centrum Hotel in central Warsaw.  

Demolition is underway at the corner of Wenceslas Square and Opletalova Street in Central Prague, where a new mixed-used scheme will be developed by UK-owned Flow East. The new building, designed by Chapman Taylor, is to be called Květinový dům (Flower House, also known as VN47) and will comprise 19,500 sqm of office and retail space across nine floors. It will be constructed with the aim of achieving BREEAM ‘Excellent’ status. Flow East is expected to invest app. €37 million (CZK1 billion) into the project.