As a response to continued strong demand from tenants in Budapest and Bucharest, Skanska plans to launch several new projects in both capital cities. Marcin Łapiński, Managing Director for Hungary and Romania talked to Property Forum about the differences between the two markets.

Forte Partners have inaugurated the first phase of The Bridge office project located in the Grozavesti-Basarab area in Bucharest. The first building offers 36,871 sqm of leasable space. Its tenants include IBM and BCR. The first phase of the project was financed by UniCredit Bank. Bog’Art was the main construction contractor.

CPI Property Group has begun work on the Mayhouse office building, offering 7700 square metres of modern office space from the first half of 2019. The building fills a vacant plot in the Prague district of Pankrác with views to Prague Castle.

GTC has signed a €60 million refinancing and investment loan with Raiffeisen Bank International AG for the refinancing of Green Heart, its new office project in Serbia. The office park has already reached a prelease level of 42%.

London is currently Europe’s leading financial and banking services hub, but it may lose some of its appeal for businesses targeting the European Union following Brexit. Some financial institutions will move their operations outside the UK. Frankfurt and Paris will definitely benefit, but Warsaw is also one of the contenders. Bolesław Kołodziejczyk, PhD, Head of Research & Advisory, Cresa Poland analysed the potential impact of the UK’s departure from the European Union on the Polish market.

Hong Kong has replaced London’s West End as the most expensive office market in which to accommodate staff, according to new research from Cushman & Wakefield. At a global level, the average annual cost per workstation rose by 1.5% over the last 12 months. Workplace density – the number of workers within a given space – has also increased in 2017.

NewWork, a serviced offices operator from Hungary, opened their first location in Poland. 3,200 sqm of flexible office space is now available in Warsaw's Wilanów in Wilanów Office Park. NewWork plans to continue their expansion in the Polish capital city and open another 10,000 sqm of serviced office space by the end of 2018.

GTC S.A. signed a €46.5 million new loan agreement with BZ WBK for refinancing of Korona Office Complex. The complex offers about 36,800 sqm GLA in Kraków.

Dyskret Polska, represented by Cushman & Wakefield, has finalised the disposal of the Vinci Office Center in Kraków. The buyer and the transaction price have not been disclosed. 

The Iulius Company completed a new office building spanning on over 13,000 sqm in Openville Timişoara, the mixed-use project the company develops together with Atterbury Europe in the vicinity of Iulius Mall. United Business Center 1 (UBC 1) is the second building opened in Timişoara in 2017, after UBC 2 (18,000 sqm) opened in January. Following this latest achievement, the total office area delivered by Iulius on the local market over a single year now adds up to 31,000 sqm.