Poland ‘top of list’ for investors looking for deals in CEE

Investors who are testing the waters again in Central and Eastern Europe are looking at Poland first, Jaroslaw Wnuk, head of investment at King Sturge in Warsaw, said at EXPO REAL

‘For investors looking at Central and Eastern Europe, Poland is top of their list, due to both its size and economic perfomance,'said Wnuk. And investor interest is on the up: around EUR 1 bn in deals were transacted in Poland in the first nine months of the year, up from EUR 750 mln during 2009, Wnuk said. Poland´s GDP is expected to grow by around 3.5% this year, compared to a EU-27 average of just over 1%, according to Eurostat.

Prime office yields in Warsaw have moved in by around 25 bps to 6.75%, around the same as prime retail, Wnuk said. In the Czech Republic, the market continues to lag behind Poland, said Angus Wade, managing director of King Sturge in Prague. ‘There have been around EUR 350mln in deals this year, compared to EUR 500 mln during 2009. By the year-end, the level could reach last year’s,’ he said.

GDP in the Czech Republic is expected to grow by around 1.5% this year, he added. However, interestingly, while international investors dominate the Polish market, local players have accounted for around 75% of deals in the Czech Republic this year, according to Wade. Prime office yields in the Czech Republic stand at around 7%, according to King Sturge, a contraction of 50 bps since the beginning of the year. Prime retail yields stand at 6.5%, Wade said.