Weekly CRE Market Commentary

Ljubljana's Vilharia Opens Fully Built and 90% Let, Capping One of Slovenia's Most-Watched Office Projects

Vilharia in Ljubljana reached completion this week, with 90% of its commercial space already leased and Generali confirmed as the first tenant to move in, closing out years of anticipation around one of the Slovenian capital's most closely watched office developments. The milestone landed in a week that also saw NEPI Rockcastle exit the Baltic region with a €200 million Vilnius disposal and Panattoni land one of Silesia's largest-ever industrial leases.

Market Mood

Vilharia's completion is a significant proof point for the Ljubljana office market: a large speculative development delivered fully built and nearly fully let, with Generali as its first confirmed occupier. The strong pre-completion leasing performance stands in contrast to the caution that has characterised parts of the CEE office sector this year, and it will keep market attention fixed on developer Corwin's next move, with speculation continuing about an eventual sale of the asset. Warsaw's office market told a parallel story of landlord-favourable conditions elsewhere in the region: only about 28,000 sqm of new supply is expected by year-end 2026, pushing average vacancy down to 8.5% citywide and 4.8% in central locations despite a 38% surge in H1 occupier activity.

Where Capital Is Moving

NEPI Rockcastle agreed to sell Vilnius's Ozas Shopping and Entertainment Centre to Prosperus Retail Property Fund for €200 million, marking its formal exit from the Baltic region as it redeploys capital toward CEE and Spain. For Prosperus, the deal is an entry point into the Baltic retail market as part of a stated ambition to build a €1 billion diversified CEE retail portfolio, a clear illustration of how one company's portfolio pruning becomes another's platform-building opportunity.

Panattoni secured a 165,000 sqm lease with ILS, the logistics arm of Inter Cars Group, at Panattoni Park Katowice Airport, one of the largest single industrial leasing transactions in Silesia's history, with handover scheduled for Q4 2028. Panattoni separately completed the sale of Panattoni Park Poznań A2, a 150,000 sqm fully leased complex let to a clothing sector tenant as a European logistics centre. EQT Real Estate signed a build-to-suit lease with DHL Supply Chain for 25,300 sqm at EQT Real Estate Park Gliwice I, featuring heat pumps and photovoltaic installations, targeted for late-2026 handover.

DL Invest Group secured €28.8 million in five-year financing from HYPO NOE Landesbank for a portfolio of 11 retail parks across Poland's Silesian Voivodeship, covering approximately 44,300 sqm GLA. Appeninn Nyrt. confirmed its Polish portfolio has grown to over €290 million in value following two 2026 acquisitions. GTC signed a 23,000 sqm lease with the City of Łódź, which will relocate its main municipal administration headquarters into the University Business Park complex, consolidating 34 offices and departments by early 2028.

In residential, Rutkowski Group entered the Warsaw market for the first time with a 39-apartment project in Białołęka, Capital Park Group secured planning permission for the first phase of Nowy Wełnowiec in Katowice comprising over 230 flats, and STRABAG Real Estate launched sales for Brenner Residence in Bratislava's Mlynské nivy district, two towers totalling 193 apartments with first occupancy targeted for 2029.

CEE/SEE

Speculation intensified around a potential sale of Tesco's Central European operations, with the Schwarz Group, owner of Kaufland and Lidl, reportedly circling the Czech and Slovak businesses, a transaction that would mark one of the last major changes in Tesco's international footprint. Romania's land market continued its structural transformation, with a widening value gap between plots holding clear zoning and those lacking proper documentation, while buyer profiles diversify to include energy and digital infrastructure investors. Cushman & Wakefield Echinox highlighted a substantial student housing shortage in Romania, with only approximately 80,000 beds available for over 361,000 students across the country's four main university cities. Nhood partnered with Regata Imobiliare to develop the commercial component of Satul German, a large-scale "15-minute city" project in Moldova targeting 2028 completion. YIT Czechia completed the second phase of Portti Kladno, delivering 102 freehold apartments, and is now progressing with the larger Virta Kladno complex targeting approximately 750 apartments.

Slovenia and Adriatic

Vilharia's opening is the clear headline for the domestic market this week, a landmark delivery that will shape sentiment around Ljubljana office leasing for the remainder of the year. Go Asset began the second phase of its €40 million logistics park in Sežana, with Ljubljana-based logistics company T. L. Sirk as the primary user, capitalising on the site's proximity to the ports of Koper, Trieste, and Rijeka. At the Moving Adria conference, Croatia's Ministry for Sea, Transport, and Infrastructure announced that Rijeka is expected to attract €2.5 billion in port investments, with a further €6 billion allocated for railway development, a substantial commitment that will further sharpen competition for Koper along the northern Adriatic corridor. Ljubljana-headquartered entertainment operator WOOP! announced plans for European expansion into Austria and Germany, seeking 6,000 to 10,000 sqm locations near major retail destinations with CC Real advising.

Outlook

Vilharia's near-full pre-completion leasing sets a high bar for the next wave of Ljubljana office product and will keep the market watching for signs of a sale process from Corwin. Regionally, NEPI Rockcastle's Baltic exit and Prosperus's simultaneous market entry point to a broader reshuffling underway in CEE retail ownership, while the Panattoni/ILS lease and Poznań A2 sale confirm that large-scale, fully-let logistics assets remain the most liquid product type in the region. The Rijeka investment announcement is the most consequential Adriatic infrastructure signal in recent months and should be tracked closely for its implications on Koper's competitive position.

^Sources

<sup>EuropaProperty
- EuropaProperty — NEPI Rockcastle seals €200 million sale agreement for Ozas shopping centre in Lithuania — https://europaproperty.com/nepi-rockcastle-seals-e200-million-sale-agreement-for-ozas-shopping-centre-in-lithuania/
- EuropaProperty — UNIQA Real Estate Management opens investment platform to third-party capital — https://europaproperty.com/uniqa-real-estate-management-opens-investment-platform-to-third-party-capital/
- EuropaProperty — Lidl joins as a key tenant of retail park in Środa Wielkopolska — https://europaproperty.com/lidl-joins-as-a-key-tenant-of-retail-park-in-sroda-wielkopolska/
- EuropaProperty — FREY Builds Major Retail Platform in Poland — https://europaproperty.com/frey-builds-major-retail-platform-in-poland/
- EuropaProperty — Pepco Opens New Distribution Centre Near Gdańsk — https://europaproperty.com/pepco-opens-new-distribution-centre-near-gdansk/
- EuropaProperty — Panattoni Park Katowice Airport Signs 165,000 sqm ILS Lease — https://europaproperty.com/panattoni-park-katowice-airport-signs-165000-sqm-ils-lease/
- EuropaProperty — EQT Real Estate signs BTS lease with DHL Supply Chain for dedicated logistics facility — https://europaproperty.com/eqt-real-estate-signs-bts-lease-with-dhl-supply-chain-for-dedicated-logistics-facility/
- EuropaProperty — Nhood Joins Satul German Development in Moldova — https://europaproperty.com/nhood-joins-satul-german-development-in-moldova/
- EuropaProperty — Entertainment specialist WOOP! is set to expand across Europe — https://europaproperty.com/entertainment-specialist-woop-is-set-to-expand-across-europe/
- EuropaProperty — Construction starts on XOPark Gotse Delchev, Bulgaria — https://europaproperty.com/construction-starts-on-xopark-gotse-delchev-bulgaria/</sup>

<sup>Europe-RE
- Europe-RE — Action opens first Slovenian store as expansion runway grows to 4,650 stores — https://europe-re.com/action-opens-first-slovenian-store-as-expansion-runway-grows-to-4-650-stores/74685</sup>

<sup>Property Forum
- Property Forum — DL Invest Group secures €28.8 million for Polish retail parks — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/dl-invest-group-secures-eur288-million-for-polish-retail-parks/22084
- Property Forum — Investors chase quality as competition grows in Croatia and Slovenia — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/investors-chase-quality-as-competition-grows-in-croatia-and-slovenia/22082
- Property Forum — Panattoni signs 165,000 sqm deal with ILS in Silesia — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/panattoni-signs-165000-sqm-deal-with-ils-in-silesia/22100
- Property Forum — Appeninn expands Polish portfolio to €290 million — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/appeninn-expands-polish-portfolio-to-eur290-million/22101
- Property Forum — GTC signs 23,000 sqm lease with City of Łódź — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/gtc-signs-23000-sqm-lease-with-city-of-lodz/22090
- Property Forum — Rutkowski Group enters Warsaw with Białołęka residential project — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/rutkowski-group-enters-warsaw-with-bialoleka-residential-project/22118
- Property Forum — Capital Park secures planning permission for Nowy Wełnowiec in Katowice — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/capital-park-secures-planning-permission-for-nowy-welnowiec-in-katowice/22103
- Property Forum — STRABAG Real Estate launches Brenner Residence in Bratislava — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/strabag-real-estate-launches-brenner-residence-in-bratislava/22074
- Property Forum — Tesco explores sale of Central European units as Kaufland circles — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/tesco-explores-sale-of-central-european-units-as-kaufland-circles/22121
- Property Forum — Romania's land market under significant transformation — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/romanias-land-market-under-significant-transformation/22088
- Property Forum — Cushman & Wakefield Echinox maps student housing gap in Romania — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/cushman-wakefield-echinox-maps-student-housing-gap-in-romania/22116
- Property Forum — Panattoni sells 150,000 sqm Poznań logistics park — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/panattoni-sells-150000-sqm-poznan-logistics-park/22120
- Property Forum — YIT Czechia completes second phase of Portti Kladno — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/yit-czechia-completes-second-phase-of-portti-kladno/22122
- Property Forum — Warsaw office vacancy tightens as supply hits record low — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/warsaw-office-vacancy-tightens-as-supply-hits-record-low/22124</sup>

<sup>Finance.si
- Finance.si — Vilharia zgrajena, oddanih 90 odstotkov poslovnih prostorov — https://www.finance.si/nepremicnine/vilharia-zgrajena-oddanih-90-odstotkov-poslovnih-prostorov/a/9051424 — Author: Vasilij Krivec
- Finance.si — Bližina Kopra, Trsta in Reke: v Sežani nastaja 40-milijonski logistični park — https://www.finance.si/logistika-%26-prevozi/blizina-kopra-trsta-in-reke-v-sezani-nastaja-40-milijonski-logisticni-park/a/9051426 — Author: Nataša Koražija
- Finance.si — Moving Adria: Na Reko prihaja 2,5 milijarde evrov naložb, v železnice pa šest milijard — https://www.finance.si/logistika-%26-prevozi/moving-adria-na-reko-prihaja-25-milijarde-evrov-nalozb-v-zeleznice-pa-sest-milijard/a/9051430 — Author: Nataša Koražija</sup>

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