Yovav Carmi, President of Management Board and Ariel Ferstman, CFO of GTC have talked to Property Forum about the latest financial results of the company, coping with the effects of the pandemic in the commercial real estate sector and the new directions of company activities.

Analysis of 44 key office markets in EMEA showed a 155,000 sqm increase in the total amount of flex workspace, according to Colliers. This increase equates to 25,000 extra desks. Contributing to this increase was the addition of 285,000 sqm of newly opened space, but this was offset by 130,000 sqm of space that closed and a further 23,000 sqm that was abandoned. However, nearly a third of the space that closed was due to WeWork streamlining its business in key European locations such as Barcelona, Copenhagen, London and Oslo.

Romanian law firm Stratulat Albulescu has closed a significant number of land deals and transactions involving various heritage properties this year. Silviu Stratulat, Managing Partner of Stratulat Albulescu talked to Property Forum about the attractive fiscal environment for property investments and the market segments that record the biggest development volumes at present.

According to Savills, preliminary data for European office markets for Q3 2021 shows take-up had increased 15% year-on-year, although still below the five-year average. Positive office market data is also provided by Google’s mobility index, with Warsaw leading the way among surveyed European capital cities.

Are you looking for prime office space within Porto Montenegro marina to establish or extend your business in Montenegro?

Wing has sold buildings B, C and I in the Infopark office park in Budapest. The properties were sold through the Gladiator V Real Estate Investment Fund, the buyer being SkyGreen Buildings Ltd. Wing intends to use the proceeds from the sale for the purposes set out in its business plan, namely to strengthen its position in the region.

M7 Real Estate has completed the final sale on behalf of the M7 Central European Real Estate Fund I (M7 CEREF), with the disposal of the Mani Business Centre in Zagreb to Raiffeisen Pension Insurance Company. M7 will continue to asset manage the property on behalf of the new owner.

Real estate advisory firm Savills has been appointed as the leasing agent for office space in Karolkowa Business Park, located in Warsaw’s Wola district.

Some companies have seen slight increases in the productivity of employees working remotely since the pandemic, which fuelled the idea that most employees can continue to work from anywhere since they can be just as productive as working from the office. But there is a contradiction here: on a global scale, more and more people worked and lived under stressful conditions in the last year and a half. In this context, the big question is if people can be more productive remotely in the long run. Moreover, this situation brings on a very important idea, that offices should become hubs designed for productivity and sustain a much less stressful way of working for employees in the long term. Gavin Bonner, Vice President at Genesis Property explains the topic in an opinion piece for Property Forum.

Romanian developer One United Properties recorded a record turnover of RON 627.7 million (€126.8 million) in the first nine months of the year, up 87% year-on-year, while the gross profit gained 186% y/y to RON 293.3 million (€48.3 million) on higher residential sales and increased occupancy rates in offices.