Experts participating at Portfolio's recent FM & Hybrid Office conference in Budapest discussed the present and future of the office market. The past 18 months have started a multitude of changes as WFH, the sub-leasing of office space, the change in internal configurations, the return to offices, sustainable management and changing tenant requirements have led to a substantial transformation in the lives of office market players. Experts agree that hybrid office use is currently the most likely outcome, as only a few businesses have adopted WFH full-time.

Facility services provider ISS has exited the Romanian market as part of a regional transaction that includes three more Eastern Europe countries. ISS said that the divestments are in line with the company’s strategy to simplify and focus its business on key account customers. 

B+N Referencia Zrt. has acquired ISS Group’s interests in Central and Eastern Europe. With an internationally significant acquisition, the Hungarian group became one of the most notable facility management providers in the region. The transaction concerns the main subsidiaries of the ISS Group in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, and Hungary.

CPI Property Group has sold part of its Czech facility management business to M2C, which provides security, maintenance and cleaning services. Employees from the existing facility management division will be transferred to M2C.

The state of emergency imposed by the current pandemic has led to the almost total vacancy of office spaces, within the context of many of the employees working from home. The landlords want to lower service charge levels for this period and continue to provide the necessary services to maintain the buildings in optimal conditions, according to a report by CBRE Romania.

CBS International, part of the Cushman & Wakefield Group, has been assigned to provide facility management services for the Blue Center office building in New Belgrade by owner Bluehouse Capital.

Skanska Property Poland has commissioned Apleona HSG Facility Management Poland with hard services for buildings 4 and 5 of the High5ive office property in Krakow. The agreed country-specific open-ended contract includes both assets supervision and complex maintenance service of all technical building systems with 24-hour emergency support.

The International Facility Management Association (IFMA) and its alliance partner Facility Management Netherlands (FMN) have announced that in 2020 World Workplace Europe will again be held at the Kromhouthal in Amsterdam, 18 to 20 March. Property Forum is proud to support the event as media partner.

Amsterdam will be the epicentre of facility management in Europe for three days. From 20 to 22 March, the Dutch capital city will set the stage for World Workplace Europe meets Facility for Future. The event is owned by IFMA, the International Facility Management Association and FMN, the Dutch professional association for the facility sector. It is the perfect opportunity for European Facility Managers to network internationally and to fully immerse themselves in the most important trends shaping Facility Management today and tomorrow.

STRABAG PFS Austria GmbH signed the agreement for the acquisition of 100 % of the shares of Caverion Polska Sp. z o.o. of Warsaw, a Polish specialist in the field of technical facility management (TFM). The previous owner, Finland’s Caverion Oyj, has chosen to withdraw from this market.