Weekly CRE Market Commentary

Couche-Tard's $8.6 Billion Żabka Bid Headlines a Week of Record Office Leasing and Portfolio Consolidation

Alimentation Couche-Tard's announced acquisition of a controlling stake in Żabka Group, Poland's largest convenience retailer, at approximately US$8.6 billion dwarfed every other transaction this week and stands as one of the largest corporate control transactions ever involving a CEE retail operator. Alongside it, PwC Polska signed the largest office lease in Poland this year, and CEE-wide H1 investment volume was confirmed at €5.8 billion across six markets, with the Czech Republic leading.

Market Mood

Couche-Tard's voluntary tender offer for Żabka Group, supported by shareholders owning approximately 57% of Żabka's shares, is a corporate transaction rather than a real estate deal in the traditional sense, but its scale, roughly US$8.6 billion, makes it directly relevant to CEE retail real estate: Żabka's convenience store network underpins a substantial share of Poland's small-format retail leasing activity, and a change of control at this scale will influence landlord relationships and store rollout strategy across the country for years. Property Forum confirmed this week that CEE-6 commercial real estate investment reached €5.8 billion in H1 2026, with the Czech Republic contributing over €1.4 billion and maintaining its position as the region's most consistently liquid market, while Czech investors increasingly deployed capital into Poland, surpassing both German and American capital sources there.

Where Capital Is Moving

PwC Polska signed for approximately 20,000 sqm across 11 floors of AFI Tower in Warsaw, becoming anchor tenant of the 150-metre skyscraper within the Towarowa22 mixed-use project and confirming the largest office leasing transaction in Poland so far this year. Panattoni and LOGISTEED Poland expanded their partnership at Panattoni Park Warsaw North II, with LOGISTEED extending and increasing its space to over 50,000 sqm, fully letting the development.

Portfolio consolidation was a recurring theme. Appeninn Nyrt. finalised its acquisition of an 11-property retail portfolio from Dekada across Poland, comprising seven retail parks and four shopping centres totalling approximately 53,000 sqm for over €100 million, materially strengthening Appeninn's Polish retail footprint. Apsys acquired the 3 Stawy Shopping Centre in Katowice from Union Investment, a 38,600 sqm asset with 97.1% occupancy. BIG Poland added its 13th retail park with the acquisition of Grodzisk Sfera Park near Warsaw. In Croatia, Kaufmann & Hofmann secured €130 million in refinancing from Erste & Steiermärkische Bank for City Center one Split, extending debt maturity on the retail asset.

WING acquired the Olympia project in Budapest from Atenor, a 74,000 sqm complex on Hungária Boulevard combining an operating office building, a structurally complete building, and development plots, with plans to reposition the site for mixed-use including potentially over 500 apartments. Eika Real Estate Fund made its first Wrocław office acquisition with the Komandorska 12 business centre, a LEED Gold certified 4,139 sqm asset in a prime city centre location.

In Warsaw residential, Resi Capital by Cavatina reported over PLN 250 million in sales across 122 apartments at Liberty Tower within six months of launch, positioning the 587-unit, 140-metre tower as one of Poland's fastest-selling premium residential projects ahead of its 2029 completion.

CEE/SEE

Romania's H1 2026 investment market reached €253 million, led by retail, with total delivery volume of 84,000 sqm and a further 68,000 sqm expected in H2, plus nearly 300,000 sqm planned for 2027–2028. Romanian industrial demand rose 11% year-on-year to 569,000 sqm in H1, with speculative builds returning to the market even as nationwide vacancy rose to 6.7%. One United Properties posted €106.1 million in H1 residential sales across 229 units, with average contracted prices up 24% year-on-year and 75% of units under construction already contracted. tbi bank offered Romanian property developers a grace period of up to two months following a cyberattack that disrupted the national land registry system, underscoring an operational risk that briefly halted property transactions nationwide. Develia spent nearly PLN 174 million on land acquisitions in H1, securing sites for over 1,600 homes across the Warsaw Metropolitan Area, Katowice, and Gdańsk.

Slovenia and Adriatic

Luka Koper began construction of a new multi-storey car park with capacity for almost 12,000 vehicles, a significant infrastructure investment reflecting sustained growth in port-related traffic. Competition is intensifying for Ljubljana's Vilharia office building as it nears completion and fills with tenants, with market speculation building around which investor will ultimately acquire the asset from its Slovak developer. In the Baltics, an investor club composed primarily of Estonian investors acquired Riga's Domina Shopping Center from EfTEN Capital, a club-deal structure that Property Forum highlighted as reflecting the Baltic states' relative return advantage over Visegrad markets.

Outlook

The Couche-Tard/Żabka transaction, while structured as a corporate acquisition rather than a direct real estate deal, will be the single most consequential CEE retail story to track through year-end given Żabka's outsized footprint in Polish convenience retail leasing. Meanwhile, PwC's AFI Tower lease and the CEE-wide €5.8 billion H1 investment figure both confirm that prime office and retail assets are commanding renewed institutional and occupier conviction. Watch for further consolidation in the Polish retail park sector following the Appeninn/Dekada and BIG Poland transactions, as smaller regional portfolios continue to attract larger platform buyers.

_Sources

<sup>EuropaProperty
- EuropaProperty — COUCHE-TARD TO ACQUIRE CONTROLLING STAKE IN ŻABKA GROUP — https://europaproperty.com/couche-tard-to-acquire-controlling-stake-in-zabka-group/
- EuropaProperty — Dekada sells retail portfolio to the Appeninn Group — https://europaproperty.com/dekada-sells-retail-portfolio-to-the-appeninn-group/
- EuropaProperty — GARBE launches construction of Green Park Senec — https://europaproperty.com/garbe-launches-construction-of-green-park-senec/
- EuropaProperty — PwC Polska Becomes Anchor Tenant at AFI Tower with 20,000 sqm Lease — https://europaproperty.com/pwc-polska-becomes-anchor-tenant-at-afi-tower-with-20000-sqm-lease/
- EuropaProperty — The Czech Republic Remains a Safe Haven; Domestic Investors Have Turned to Poland — https://europaproperty.com/the-czech-republic-remains-a-safe-haven-domestic-investors-have-turned-to-poland/
- EuropaProperty — Retail Leads Romania's €253M H1 Investment Market — https://europaproperty.com/retail-leads-romanias-e253m-h1-investment-market/
- EuropaProperty — Panattoni signs 50,000+ sqm Warsaw lease with LOGISTEED Poland — https://europaproperty.com/panattoni-signs-50000-sqm-warsaw-lease-with-logisteed-poland/
- EuropaProperty — City Center one Split Secures €130 Million Refinancing — https://europaproperty.com/city-center-one-split-secures-e130-million-refinancing/</sup>

<sup>Property Forum
- Property Forum — PwC signs 20,000 sqm deal at AFI Tower in Warsaw — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/pwc-signs-20000-sqm-deal-at-afi-tower-in-warsaw/21846
- Property Forum — Czech Republic leads CEE investment in H1 2026 — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/czech-republic-leads-cee-investment-in-h1-2026/21842
- Property Forum — Apsys acquires shopping centre in Katowice — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/apsys-acquires-shopping-centre-in-katowice/21837
- Property Forum — BIG Poland acquires retail park in Grodzisk Mazowiecki — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/big-poland-acquires-retail-park-in-grodzisk-mazowiecki/21834
- Property Forum — WING acquires Olympia project in Budapest — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/wing-acquires-olympia-project-in-budapest/21824
- Property Forum — EREF acquires first office property in Wrocław — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/eref-acquires-first-office-property-in-wroclaw/21827
- Property Forum — Resi Capital reports good sales for Warsaw resi tower — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/resi-capital-reports-good-sales-for-warsaw-resi-tower/21852
- Property Forum — One United Properties posts €106 million in H1 residential sales — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/one-united-properties-posts-eur106-million-in-h1-residential-sales/21848
- Property Forum — Romania industrial demand rises 11% as speculative builds return — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/romania-industrial-demand-rises-11-as-speculative-builds-return/21849
- Property Forum — tbi bank offers grace period to Romanian property developers — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/tbi-bank-offers-grace-period-to-romanian-property-developers/21851
- Property Forum — Develia acquires land for over 1,600 homes across Poland — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/develia-acquires-land-for-over-1600-homes-across-poland/21843
- Property Forum — EfTEN Capital sells Riga shopping centre to investor club — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/eften-capital-sells-riga-shopping-centre-to-investor-club/21855</sup>

<sup>Finance.si
- Finance.si — Boj za pisarne: Kdo bo kupil ljubljansko Vilhario? — https://www.finance.si/boj-za-pisarne-kdo-bo-kupil-ljubljansko-vilhario/a/9049748 — Author: Jurij Šimac
- Finance.si — V Luki Koper gradijo novo večnadstropno garažo za skoraj 12 tisoč avtomobilov — https://www.finance.si/logistika-%26-prevozi/v-luki-koper-gradijo-novo-vecnadstropno-garazo-za-skoraj-12-tisoc-avtomobilov/a/9049835 — Author: Nataša Koražija</sup>

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