GTC closed 2017 with a €105 million development profit. The company acquired Belgrade Business Center (17,700 sqm) in September 2017 and the Cascade office building (4,200 sqm) in Bucharest in August 2017 for a total sum of €46 million. GTC presented its 2017 financial results.

REICO investiční společnost České spořitelny, a.s. has acquired, on behalf of the ČS nemovitostní fond, their first prime industrial asset in Slovakia from developer and investor Invest4SEE Investment Holding GmbH. JLL advised REICO IS ČS on their first industrial acquisition in Slovakia with a transaction value of €38.9 million.

CTP is significantly expanding on the Hungarian market, announcing two new land acquisitions in strategic locations. The first plot of the total of 30 hectares investment is located in Biatorbágy next to the M1 highway, the second land plot is near Dunaharaszti. These acquisitions are a result of CTP’s ambitious expansion plan in the country, which is the primary task of new Country Manager Rudolf Nemes.

Hungarian investor and developer Wing has acquired two office buildings in Sofia, Bulgaria for a total of €9.85 million. The DXC Office Building has 8,000 sqm GLA, while the BULMAG Office Building offers 770 sqm of leasable space.

In Romania, the peak of the real estate cycle is often delayed compared to other countries in the region and market dynamics don’t allow for a true warm up. Ana Dumitrache, Head of Investment Properties at CBRE Romania shared her expectations for the market.

Globalworth Poland (GPRE) announced the acquisition of Warta Tower, a modern office tower in the City Centre West district of Warsaw for a consideration of €55 million.

Austria (+74%), Romania (+54%), the Netherlands (+46%), and Denmark (+32%) experienced the greatest annual increases in commercial property investment in 2017, as total investment across Europe rose to €234 billion, a 7% increase year-on-year, according to.

Retail and hotel sectors recorded highest investment volumes in the Croatian commercial property market in 2017. According to information available and Colliers’s estimate, 2017 brought more than €320 million investment in transactions of 22 investment properties. This does not include pending transactions or confidential deals.

Hungarian investor Appeninn Nyrt. has announced that holding company Konzun sold over 2 million ordinary shares with the face value of HUF 100, issued by the company, to OTP Real Estate Investment Fund within an OTC transaction.

In 2018 we are likely to see new investors entering the region. However, at a time when the global allocation of capital is changing rapidly, it can be difficult to identify where a new investor is coming from. Marián Fridrich, Head of Transactions at IAD Investments talked market expectations and investment strategy.