Investment flows into the CEE-6 region rose 4% y-o-y in H1 2018, marginally exceeding the pace of 2017’s record year, according to Colliers International’s latest report.

Colliers International Romania advised East Balkan Properties plc in the selling of its office portfolio consisting of four buildings with a total area of 9,047 sqm, situated in strategic locations in the capital. The acquisition was made by Adam Europe, the group that purchased a while ago the Phoenix Tower and Construdava Business Center office buildings, following two transactions that were also advised by Colliers.

Colliers International has agreed to consolidate its business in the Czech Republic with the ThreeSixty Agency, bringing to Colliers their extensive pipeline of deals, relationships and successful track record. The ThreeSixty partners Tewfik Sabongui and Petr Žalský will become equity partners of Colliers International, Czech Republic, with Tewfik Sabongui taking on the role of Managing Partner and Petr Žalský in the role of Director of Office Agency. All other ThreeSixty employees have also joined Colliers, effective immediately.

The end of the first semester has brought to light great achievements from regional cities in all real estate segments on the Romanian market. Bucharest has also performed well and, according to the real estate consultancy company Colliers International Romania, the prospects for the remainder of the year remain strong.

Real estate developers pay special attention to the environment by developing efficient and sustainable, green certified projects. With a history of almost four years, the WELL Building Standard complements these certifications and shifts the attention from the built environment to the health of the employees. In Romania, this phenomenon is in its inception and Colliers International Romania is the first real estate consultancy company with a team of WELL professionals – two out of the five that are present on a national level.

The availability of workers is right now perhaps the most significant factor for companies when assessing business plans and prospects in the CEE region. Colliers International presented the extent of the problem and the most likely solutions in a new report.

The accelerated economic development of the major regional cities in Romania is beginning to influence their real estate market as well. According to Colliers International, there are strong arguments to support the increased interest in office leasing and the strong investment potential, so cities such as Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara, Iasi or Brasov can offer an alternative to Bucharest.

Colliers sold the former Remy Automotive industrial site in Mezőkövesd, Hungary to Kiss és Társa Ltd, a local entrepreneur in the iron/metal business. The site has approx. 16 000 sqm buildings on a 13.6 ha plot and will be used for iron/metal production and warehousing purposes. Colliers represented the vendor, BorgWarner, the widely known, major automotive supplier during the transaction.

Colliers International Romania advised on the sale of Maestro Business Center office building in Cluj-Napoca, one of Romania’s most important regional cities. The acquisition made by First Property Group, a UK investment fund, favors the opening of a new investment market in Cluj-Napoca.

The location and the commercial offer are the most important criteria taken into consideration by parents visiting shopping centres with children – these are the main conclusions from the research conducted by Colliers International in cooperation with the Polish Council of Shopping Centres (PRCH) and Ariadna (research agency) in the eight biggest Polish agglomerations in terms of shopping centre child-friendliness.