Weekly CRE Market Commentary

Eastnine Pays €285 Million for The Bridge as Ghelamco Pivots to a Platform Developer Model

Eastnine AB's €285 million acquisition of The Bridge, Ghelamco's 41-storey, 99%-leased Warsaw office landmark, was the single largest transaction of the week and the second flagship deal between the two parties this year. The sale came alongside Ghelamco's announcement of letters of intent for two further Warsaw sites under a new platform developer model, where Ghelamco retains construction and quality control while third-party investors fund the projects, a structural shift aimed at reducing the group's reliance on debt and bond financing.

Market Mood

Ghelamco's sale of The Bridge to Eastnine for €285 million, confirmed this week as one of the largest Polish commercial real estate transactions in recent years, closes out a deal that had been previewed in preliminary form back in July. With the 55,300 sqm tower 99% leased and carrying multiple green certifications, the transaction reaffirms that fully let, well-certified Warsaw office towers continue to command premium institutional pricing despite the broader market's supply constraints. Cushman & Wakefield's H1 2026 data, released this week, showed CEE-7 investment volume holding stable at approximately €5.4 billion, with Poland's share rising to 56.7% of the regional total, confirming that liquidity continues to concentrate in Poland even as overall CEE volumes plateau.

Where Capital Is Moving

Ghelamco's shift toward a platform developer model was reinforced by a second transaction this week: a conditional sale agreement for its Chopin Tower project in Warsaw at €54.4 million net, the first application of the new approach where Ghelamco develops for third-party investors while retaining operational control. HB Reavis raised its Varso Place refinancing package to €555 million total, adding €50 million through amendments to existing agreements with a seven-bank consortium, one of the largest single refinancing totals recorded for a Warsaw mixed-use project this year. UNIQA Real Estate Management launched the UQA Real Estate Fund, a closed-ended vehicle targeting €600 million for Core and Core Plus office properties across Austria, Poland, and the Czech Republic, extending the platform-opening announcement from the prior week into a concrete fundraising target.

Hillwood Poland sold a portfolio of four logistics properties totalling almost 200,000 sqm for €150 million to a US real estate investment company, continuing to demonstrate strong international investor appetite for Polish logistics even as the sector's hypergrowth phase moderates. Belden, the US cable manufacturer, leased the entire 42,000 sqm HelloParks Páty PT5 facility near Budapest to establish its largest European manufacturing hub, consolidating Dutch and Hungarian operations with production starting in early 2028. Skanska sold the second phase of its H2Offices development in Budapest, 22,000 sqm fully pre-let on a 10-year lease, to the ERSTE Nyíltvégű Ingatlan Befektetési Alap, marking the largest speculative office letting transaction in Hungary in the past decade.

In Prague, PPF Real Estate agreed to acquire the Telehouse office building, offering more than 21,000 sqm of leasable space at high occupancy, while Quantum Real, LCube, and Adamietz Construction broke ground on Quantum Gliwice, a 43,000 sqm logistics park expandable to over 60,000 sqm, with North Coast secured as inaugural tenant ahead of a Q1 2027 handover.

CEE/SEE

AYA Properties Fund and Curtis Group completed a joint venture acquisition of Chmielna 13A, a fully let 5,800 sqm mixed-use building in central Warsaw, from CPI Property Group, AYA's third investment in the city, with plans to convert residential units into serviced apartments. Sandberg Capital entered the Czech residential market with an investment in Rezidence Hausmannova, a 101-apartment Prague development in partnership with FETTERS management, as part of a longer-term strategy to build a standalone Czech residential portfolio. REDPORT and Dan Șucu launched Infinity Nord in northern Bucharest, a 4.6-hectare mixed-use scheme planned for approximately 1,200 affordable luxury homes across three phases, with Auchan and World Class already pre-leasing 95% of the first phase's commercial space. Atenor secured its building permit for BakerStreet II, a 280-unit residential development in Budapest's 11th district, part of the firm's strategic repositioning toward higher-quality residential product. North Bucharest Investments and Denya launched Denya Lake, a €45 million villa-based residential development in Bucharest's Pipera area emphasising privacy and professional community management.

Park Lane Developments, Mitiska REIM, and the EBRD opened Estrea Park Hadzhi Dimitar in Sofia, a fully let 22-store retail park and the first of a planned network of at least ten Estrea Park retail parks across Bulgaria, a notable institutional retail platform launch for the Bulgarian market.

Slovenia and Adriatic

Corwin officially opened Vilharia in Ljubljana this week, a 36,000 sqm LEED Platinum certified office complex located next to the city's main transport hub and designed to accommodate approximately 3,000 people, with several major tenants already secured, closing out one of the most closely watched Slovenian office developments of the year. At the Moving Adria conference, Rijeka Port Authority head Denis Vukorepa stated that all significant Rijeka infrastructure projects will be completed by 2035, positioning the port among Europe's top ten by that date, reinforcing the scale of investment flowing into the northern Adriatic corridor that Koper will need to match to maintain its competitive position. Croatia separately detailed plans for a €6 billion railway renovation programme, including four projects on the new lowland Zagreb-Rijeka route valued at approximately €2.7 billion by 2035.

Outlook

The Bridge transaction and Ghelamco's parallel pivot to a platform developer model both point to a maturing Warsaw office market where capital-constrained developers are increasingly partnering with institutional capital rather than carrying projects on balance sheet through to stabilisation. Watch for further announcements under Ghelamco's new model, and for additional UQA Real Estate Fund acquisitions as it begins deploying its €600 million target across Austria, Poland, and the Czech Republic. Vilharia's completion closes a multi-year chapter for Ljubljana's office market, and attention will now turn to how quickly its remaining space leases up and whether Corwin pursues a sale of the asset as previously speculated.

^Sources

<sup>EuropaProperty
- EuropaProperty — Ghelamco Sells The Bridge, Signs LOIs for Two Warsaw Sites — https://europaproperty.com/ghelamco-sells-the-bridge-signs-lois-for-two-warsaw-sites/
- EuropaProperty — Hillwood Sells Portfolio of Logistics Assets for €150 Million — https://europaproperty.com/hillwood-sells-portfolio-of-logistics-assets-for-e150-million/
- EuropaProperty — World-leading cable manufacturer relocates to Páty — https://europaproperty.com/world-leading-cable-manufacturer-relocates-to-paty/
- EuropaProperty — PAD RES secures €44m UniCredit financing for 133 MW PV portfolio — https://europaproperty.com/pad-res-secures-e44m-unicredit-financing-for-133-mw-pv-portfolio/
- EuropaProperty — Construction starts at Quantum Gliwice Logistics park — https://europaproperty.com/construction-starts-at-quantum-gliwice-logistics-park/
- EuropaProperty — HOTSPOT CONTINUES ITS EXPANSION IN BUCHAREST — https://europaproperty.com/hotspot-continues-its-expansion-in-bucharest/
- EuropaProperty — CEE investment markets remain stable in H1 2026, with liquidity concentrated in Poland — https://europaproperty.com/cee-investment-market-remained-stable-at-eur-5-4-billion-in-h1-2026-with-liquidity-concentrated-in-poland/
- EuropaProperty — Krysiak doubles its space at MLP Poznań West — https://europaproperty.com/krysiak-doubles-its-space-at-mlp-poznan-west/</sup>

<sup>Property Forum
- Property Forum — Ghelamco sells The Bridge in Warsaw for €285 million — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/ghelamco-sells-the-bridge-in-warsaw-for-eur285-million/22138
- Property Forum — UNIQA Real Estate launches office fund targeting CEE — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/uniqa-real-estate-lunches-office-fund-targeting-cee/22139
- Property Forum — Skanska sells H2Offices phase two in Budapest to ERSTE fund — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/skanska-sells-h2offices-phase-two-in-budapest-to-erste-fund/22135
- Property Forum — PPF Real Estate acquires Telehouse office building in Prague — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/ppf-real-estate-acquires-telehouse-office-building-in-prague/22169
- Property Forum — Ghelamco sells Chopin Tower project in Warsaw — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/ghelamco-sells-chopin-tower-project-in-warsaw/22167
- Property Forum — HB Reavis raises Varso Place refinancing to €555 million — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/hb-reavis-raises-varso-place-refinancing-to-eur555-million/22164
- Property Forum — Quantum Real breaks ground on logistics park in Gliwice — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/quantum-real-breaks-ground-on-logistics-park-in-gliwice/22145
- Property Forum — AYA Properties Fund and Curtis Group acquire Warsaw asset — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/aya-properties-fund-and-curtis-group-acquire-warsaw-asset/22132
- Property Forum — Sandberg Capital enters Czech residential market — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/sandberg-capital-enters-czech-residential-market/22131
- Property Forum — REDPORT and Dan Șucu launch Infinity Nord in Bucharest — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/redport-and-dan-sucu-launch-infinity-nord-in-bucharest/22129
- Property Forum — Atenor secures building permit for BakerStreet II in Budapest — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/atenor-secures-building-permit-for-bakerstreet-ii-in-budapest/22146
- Property Forum — NBI and Denya launch €45 million residential project in Bucharest — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/nbi-and-denya-launch-eur45-million-residential-project-in-bucharest/22163
- Property Forum — Park Lane Developments opens Estrea Park in Sofia — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/park-lane-developments-opens-estrea-park-in-sofia/22130
- Property Forum — Belden relocates European cable plant near Budapest — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/belden-relocates-european-cable-plant-near-budapest/22155
- Property Forum — Corwin opens Vilharia office complex in Ljubljana — https://www.property-forum.eu/news/corwin-opens-vilharia-office-complex-in-ljubljana/22158</sup>

<sup>Finance.si
- Finance.si — Denis Vukorepa: Luka Rijeka bo leta 2035 med desetimi največjimi pristanišči v Evropi — https://www.finance.si/logistika-%26-prevozi/denis-vukorepa-luka-rijeka-bo-leta-2035-med-desetimi-najvecjimi-pristanisci-v-evropi/a/9051525 — Author: Nataša Koražija
- Finance.si — Kako bo Hrvaška prenavljala proge za šest milijard evrov: glavni projekti — https://www.finance.si/logistika-%26-prevozi/kako-bo-hrvaska-prenavljala-proge-za-sest-milijard-evrov-glavni-projekti/a/9051545 — Author: Nataša Koražija</sup>

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