Face2Face Business Campus, an office complex in Katowice with a combined area of close to 50,000 sqm, has a new property manager. Its owner, a joint venture of the Czech fund INVESTIKA realitní fond and Luxembourg-based private equity investor Bud Holdings, has instructed Savills to provide property management for the complex.

In their global real estate outlook for 2023, the Savills World Research team says that capital value increases in most real estate sectors around the world in 2023 will be minimal, and rental growth prospects limited, but investment activity may rebound in H2 2023.

Savills has advised AT Capital Group on the acquisition of the development plot at the junction of Grzybowska and Żelazna streets in Warsaw for the planned 140-metre-high Liberty Tower.

According to the latest report from Workthere.pl, Savills' flexible office space platform, since 2018, flex providers have delivered over 239,000 sqm of new office space in 114 buildings, accounting for 75% of Poland’s total coworking and serviced office stock.

According to Savills, investment into industrial assets in Europe has continued to reflect the strong performance of the sector’s occupational market. European investment volumes into industrial real estate assets totalled €42 billion over the first three quarters of 2022, an increase of 2% YoY and 50% above the five-year average. Investment volumes in Portugal (595%), Belgium (124%) and Italy (93%) outperformed their five-year averages by the widest margins.

Savills has presented a preliminary summary of 2022 and predicted key trends for the coming months. The commercial property market in Poland is facing uncertainty and rising prices but remains underpinned by strong fundamentals, which bodes well for the future, reveals Savills.

Savills, along with its flexible office specialist Workthere.pl, anticipates that flex office stock in Europe will reach circa 20% of total office stock across the continent over the next 10 years. However, this will vary significantly by location and working culture, as the definition of what is considered ‘flex’ broadens.

Investment into the world’s office markets fell sharply in Q3 2022, however, there is plenty of capital still circulating poised to target the best assets, as well as any areas of discount, as debt-backed buyers withdraw and others pause decision-making. The Czech market is copying the global market, but the number of opportunities for buyers to source a ‘bargain’ is limited, says Savills in its latest Capital Markets Quarterly report. 

Savills forecasts that rising energy prices will be a major challenge for commercial property landlords, managers and tenants in 2023. In response to market expectations, Savills has launched an interdepartmental service line dedicated to improving energy performance and helping identify ways to reduce annual energy consumption in buildings by up to 14%.

Kamil Kowa, Member of the Board and Head of the Corporate Finance & Valuation Department at Savills Poland, talked to Property Forum about the current slowdown in the Polish residential market, PRS funds' expansion and the forecast for private student accommodation in that country.