Total office market demand reached 335,000 sqm in H1 2020 on the Warsaw office market. In fact, demand for office space in Q2 was significantly higher than in Q1. Vacancy rates across Warsaw increased slightly by 0.1 p.p., with 770,000 sqm under construction. JLL summarised the Warsaw office market in H1 2020.

Panattoni is to build an advanced hi-tech manufacturing and warehouse complex for AZZ Specialty Welding Europe, a provider of specialised welding services for customers in various business sectors, including fossil power, refining, waste-to-energy, chemical processing and nuclear power. The 12,820 sqm facility will be located in Radom. The construction project is scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2020, while the tenant should be able to move in in March 2021.

According to data from the Polish Council of Shopping Centers, footfall in shopping malls range from 62 to 73% when compared to last year’s numbers. The pandemic has changed the habits of Poles who are planning their shopping in a more thoughtful, cautious and safe way. In the new reality, small-format shops located close to home are attracting more visitors. By the end of May and after negotiations between owners and tenants had been completed, almost all shops in retail parks were operating. Some of these shops are now recording a turnover of 160% of pre-lockdown levels.

The Medezin factory has started production in a 7R investment in Konstantynów Łódzki, Poland. This is the second brand that belongs to the Pelion Group, the largest healthcare company in Poland, which operates in the 7R Park Łódź West I. The storage area for Medezin was designed in the BTS formula and was adapted to the specific needs of the pharmaceutical industry.

The drop in footfall numbers in the majority of shopping centres combined with a drop in turnover, as well as ongoing talks between tenants and shopping centre owners have caused a slowdown or even temporary suspension of development plans of some retail chains, especially those in the fashion sector. JLL summarised conditions on Poland's retail market at the end of H1 2020.

Globalworth published a trading update summarising the key highlights of its operating performance during the first six months of the year, including some further updates as to the impact of the pandemic crisis on its operations.

Panattoni has completed the construction of a forklift assembly plant for KION Group, one of the largest providers of intralogistics solutions and warehouse technologies worldwide comprising brands like Linde, STILL and Dematic. The facility, offering more than 44,000 sqm in Kołbaskowo near Szczecin, has been delivered in compliance with the most stringent environmental protection guidelines.

According to Savills, commercial property investment activity hit €2.92 billion across Poland in H1 2020, up by almost 5% on the same period in 2019. Despite COVID-19 challenges, it was the second-best result in the first half of a year on record. Savills anticipates that the pandemic’s impact will be noticeable in H2 2020, but the investment volume is unlikely to fall by more than 20% compared to last year’s all-time high.

Colliers International represented the Deichmann Group in the renegotiation of a lease agreement for 13,000 sqm of modern warehouse space in Prologis Park Wrocław III and in expanding by an additional 7,000 sqm. 

The first half of 2020 saw a record high investment activity with €3.5 billion of investment transactions closed on the Polish market. Although this was a 30% higher result compared to the corresponding period of last year, achieving a full-year result similar to the record-breaking €7.8 billion volume of 2019 may be difficult, according to Avison Young.