News

Call for the Eurobuild Awards 2014 jury members

Investment & finance

ING and Nordea provide EUR 174 mln for Blackstone

POLAND/CZECH REPUBLIC ING Bank Śląski has acted as the lead arranger for a EUR 174 mln term loan for LogiCor, Blackstone’s European logistics platform, to finance its recent acquisition of a logistics portfolio from Pramerica Real Estate Investors.

Redan increases turnover but suffers losses

POLAND The turnover of retail group Redan, the owner of the Top Secret, Troll and Drywash brands as well as the TextilMarket discount chain, amounted to PLN 226.2 mln in the first six months of the year, a 7.3 pct y-o-y increase.

Construction

General contractors for Staffa 9 and Kolska od Nowa

POLAND Belgian developer Matexi Polska has chosen general contractors for two Warsaw residential projects: Staffa 9 and Kolska od Nowa.

Lower vacancy in Wrocław – for now

POLAND According to the ‘Office Market in Wrocław Q2 2014’ report prepared by Knight Frank, the vacancy rate on the Wrocław office market in Q2 averaged 9.9 pct, falling from the 12.8 pct registered in the previous quarter. It was also the best figure in the last five quarters.

Higher profits for Robyg

POLAND Residential developer Grupa Robyg generated a net profit of PLN 21.6 mln in the first half of the year, up from the PLN 15.2 mln recorded in the same period last year.

Researchers develop crack-detecting “skin” for concrete structures

UNITED STATES/ FINLAND Researchers from North Carolina State University and the University of Eastern Finland have come up with an innovative technology that helps to monitor concrete structures and quickly respond to any damages as they occur, boosting construction safety and reducing fallout from the cracks.

Investment & finance

Papag wins Praktiker acquisition approval

POLAND Swiss investor Papag has obtained the approval of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKIK) for its acquisition of Praktiker Polska and Praktiker Real Estate Polska (originally reported in this publication in March).

Investment & finance

Eleven new Monnari outlets by the year-end

POLAND Clothing retailer Monnari Trade, the owner of the Monnari brand, is planning to open eleven stores in shopping centres in some of the largest cities in Poland in H2 2014.

Investment & finance

Green light to buy Matras

POLAND Nowe Powierzchnie has been given permission from the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) to acquire the Matras bookstore chain from the SEAF group.

Marvipol to buy Warsaw plots

POLAND Marvipol has issued 20,650 ordinary unsecured bonds with a value of PLN 20.65 mln. The money will be used to purchase land for residential development in Warsaw.

Architecture and urban planning

Cud nad Wisłą according to 81.WAW.PL

POLAND The Cud nad Wisłą club in Warsaw has been redesigned according to a concept drawn up by the architects of the 81.WAW.PL studio.

Office & mixed-use development

Siemens opens 3,000 sqm technology hub in Cluj

ROMANIA Siemens has leased out an entire, 3,000 sqm building in the Liberty Technology Park Cluj office complex in Cluj-Napoca, to launch a R&D centre for its IT subsidiary, Evosoft. The new offices will ultimately house over 200 engineers involved in the software development across all Siemens units.

Investment & finance

EBRD grants EUR 30 mln loan to redevelop Croatian marinas

CROATIA The European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has arranged a EUR 30 mln loan for a Turkish developer to renovate two Croatian marinas and help increase nautical tourism in the country.

Accor Group sees “very positive performance” across CEE

EUROPE In the first half of the year, French hotel operator Accor has seen a 2.8 pct y-o-y increase in like-for-like revenues as its total revenues hit EUR 2.5 bln. Meanwhile, like-for-like gains in the Northern, Central and Eastern Europe region (NCEE) alone went up 3.2 pct.

Warsaw is getting "investment intense"

POLAND Warsaw has been ranked sixth in JLL’s global Investment Intensity Index as it outperformed such cities as Paris, New York and Tokyo, the company informed. The top five positions were taken by London, Oslo, Munich, Stockholm and Copenhagen.

Retail developers more interested in smaller markets

POLAND About 63 pct of retail space currently under construction is located in cities with populations under 400,000, according to research by Knight Frank.

Investment & finance

PointPark Properties buys eleven logistics parks

CZECH REPUBLIC PointPark Properties has agreed to buy eleven Czech logistics parks from Tristan Capital Partners and VGP for EUR 523 mln.

Investment & finance

HB Reavis sells River Garden Office I

CZECH REPUBLIC HB Reavis Group has sold its River Garden Office I building in Prague’s Karlín business district to Prvý realitný fond (PRF) managed by Slovakian company IAD Investments.

Investment & finance

TechnoPark Pardubice goes under the hammer

CZECH REPUBLIC The Naxos auction house is selling Technopark Pardubice, with the lowest bid having been set at CZK 160 mln (app. EUR 5.7 mln).