Nepi Rockcastle, Europe's third-largest listed retail real estate company by portfolio value, reported a 12.1% year-on-year increase in net operating income (NOI) in the first half of 2025, reaching €307 million. The company's investment property portfolio exceeded €8 billion for the first time in its history, supported by acquisitions completed in 2024 and active asset management. Vacancy remained low at 1.6%.
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Globalworth's Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) and senior unsecured debt rating at BBB- with a stable outlook, noting the company's efforts in deleveraging and its robust commercial portfolio across Poland and Romania.
The industrial real estate market in CEE has entered 2025 with strong momentum. According to new market data released by iO Partners, the total stock of industrial space has reached 34.4 million sqm in Q1 2025, marking a 1.1% quarter-on-quarter increase.
Romania has elected a new president in a landmark vote, with independent and pro-European candidate Nicușor Dan defeating far-right rival George Simion with 54% of the vote. The result marks a major political shift, as neither of Romania's traditional parties advanced to the final round. In Poland, the second round of the election is to take place amidst the fiscal clarity issues.
In a significant political shift for CEE, Romania elected Nicușor Dan as president on May 18, 2025, while Poland's pro-European candidate Rafał Trzaskowski narrowly led the first round of its presidential election. These outcomes suggest a regional move toward centrist, pro-EU leadership.
Service charges for modern office buildings in Romania have seen the most substantial increase in recent years, with approximately a 10% rise in the 2025 allocated budgets,
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has cut its 2025 growth forecast for its regions by 0.2 percentage points to 3.0%, with a moderate rebound to 3.4% expected in 2026. This follows a similar downgrade in February and reflects mounting global headwinds, including rising trade policy uncertainty, softening external demand, and newly imposed tariffs.
The EBRD has subscribed for PLN 140 million (€33 million) in the debut sustainability-linked bond issuance by Żabka Group, a Polish modern convenience retailer.
Budapest-based Shopper Park Plus (SPP) is considering a range of financing options to further its corporate development, following the successful completion of a portfolio deal in Slovakia with a 9.5% yield.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing a regional loan of up to €120 million to AFI Europe to support its development pipeline in Serbia, Poland, Romania, and Czechia.
Construction labour cost and availability have become the primary concerns for real estate developers in Central Europe, according to a new survey by Deloitte. This shift sees it surpassing project financing, which has been the dominant issue in recent years.
Productivity in Romania has increased from 26% in 2008 to 44% in 2024, with women making a notable contribution, according to an analysis of Alpha Bank.
The total volume of investments from six CEE countries reached €5 billion in the first three quarters of 2024, and next year the regional real estate investment market could exceed €10 billion, according to a Colliers report.
Real estate investment decisions in CEE are currently made considering various challenges, such as difficulty in predicting five-year exit strategies for investments, liquidity in the region, and concerns about the impact of ESG regulations on building compliance and financing, to name a few. CEE Property Forum 2024 in Vienna has taken a closer look at European investment trends in the panel chaired by Tim Wilkinson, MRICS, Head of European Acquisitions at Indotek Group.
GARBE has been on the markets in Central and Eastern Europe for 4 years. Now the company has announced the full occupancy of all its industrial parks in the region.
The disposable income gap between CEE economies, which are enjoying solid economic expansion, and stagnating Western European countries is narrowing fast. This is buoying consumer spending in markets like Poland and Romania and attracting international and regional retailers to large modern shopping centres that dominate the CEE's shopping and experience landscapes, while also offering higher margins and lower costs, NEPI Rockcastle's latest research concludes.
The collaboration involves key activities critical to the brand's long-term success in these new markets, including identifying and selecting franchise partners.
Bucharest is consolidating its position within the Central and Eastern European (CEE) real estate market, combining rental growth across major asset classes with investment yields that remain well above Western European levels, according to the DNA of Real Estate Europe Q2 2026 report published by Cushman & Wakefield. Across Europe in Q2 2026, prime office rents rose 4.5% year-on-year, retail rents increased 3.0%, and logistics rents grew 2.4%, while investors remained selective as yield movements pointed to a more balanced market following the repricing cycle of recent years.
Energy company Electrica informs investors and the capital market that it has obtained the technical grid connection permits (ATR) for 17 new battery energy storage projects (BESS), with a total capacity of approximately 700 MWh.
The European Retail Banking Radar, Kearney's latest study now in its 18th edition, shows that Europe is entering a period of normalisation following the conditions of 2023–2025. For Romania, the challenge extends beyond the normalisation of interest rates.
Romania's national electricity transmission network operator, Transelectrica, has halted scheduled maintenance shutdowns to ensure the grid operates at maximum capacity during an ongoing extreme heatwave. The preventive measures aim to mitigate operational risks associated with severe weather conditions.
Digi Spain has announced its intention to launch an initial public offering (IPO) on the Spanish stock exchanges, aiming to raise approximately €150 million.
