Immofinanz has announced the sale of a smaller Austrian retail portfolio to an Austrian real estate investor and, with this transaction, continues its strategic withdrawal from properties that are not part of the core business. The portfolio covers 88 properties with approx. 108,000 sqm of rentable space in eight Austrian provinces. The parties to the transaction have agreed not to disclose any information on the purchase price. The closing will take place in several steps through the end of 2017. 

CBRE has published its inaugural Understanding European Technology Clusters report, highlighting the vibrancy and rapid growth of Europe’s tech sector. The report analyses the characteristics of tech clusters and explores future opportunities among high-performing, and emerging, tech cities across Europe. 

Nordea Bank AB Branch in Poland is one of the new tenants of Olivia Star, a newly constructed building of the Olivia Business Centre in Gdańsk. It leased two floors there occupying nearly 2600 sqm. Colliers International supported the Scandinavian firm in this transaction.

Prague's office market has witnessed several records this year: the lowest annual office supply in history and one of the highest demand volumes. By the end of 2016, Prague´s office market will have 3,245,000 sqm of modern offices. At the same time, the Czech capital recorded the lowest annual office supply in history with only 33,600 sqm in 6 projects, On the contrary, over 180,000 sqm of new office space will be delivered to the Prague market next year. 

FLE GmbH, a company of the LFPI group, has acquired its first property in CEE from an international institutional seller. The acquisition relates to the office building Office Garden I in the Southern Buda area of Budapest, that is 93 percent leased and offers 16,000 square meters of leasable space. The seller was represented by JLL.

Warsaw’s office stock topped 5 million sqm in 2016. High growth dynamics and changing market conditions have led to inter- and intrazone tenant migration in the past two years. Building age is still central to the choice of a suitable location. Cushman & Wakefield presented its findings in a report on the future of the Warsaw office market.

NEPI and Rockcastle have announced that the two companies will effectively be merged in a new entity, NEPI Rockcastle, to be implemented with reference to an effective share swap ratio of 4.5 existing Rockcastle shares for every 1 existing NEPI share. Alexandru Morar and Spiro Noussis, the current chief executive officers of NEPI and Rockcastle, respectively, will be appointed joint chief executive officers of NEPI Rockcastle, with Dan Pascariu appointed as independent non-executive chairman. The merged entity is expected to become the largest listed real estate player in CEE.

An opportunity fund advised by Tristan Capital Partners, a pan-European real estate investment manager, has agreed to sell the Zakopianka Shopping Centre in Krakow, Poland, to Johannesburg-listed Echo Polska Properties for approximately €54 million.

Skanska has attained an occupancy permit for the third building of Silesia Business Park in Katowice. The office complex is one of the biggest office parks in Katowice and already has lease agreements signed for over 23,000 sqm of space.

CPI Hungary has sold its V188 office building and an adjacent development land (V190), both located on Budapest’s Váci corridor, to a Hungarian investment group. CPI Hungary plans to use the funds for increasing the value of its current portfolio and to implement new green investments.