TOP INVESTORS Skanska supplies 20% of Central Europe office sales in 2015

Skanska's European property development division sold 11 office buildings last year in key central European markets for almost €500 mln.

Skanska Commercial Development Europe said that the new developments were in Poland, Czech Republic and Romania.

After a strong year in 2014, when Skanska put nine office buildings up for sale, the company provided investors with eight new buildings in 2015. According to JLL, transaction volumes for the office sector in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Romania was about €2.4 bn last year. Skanska's 2015 sales activity, with 11 closed transactions, accounted for over 20% of that total.

Skanska is now compiling its sales portfolio for 2016 and is purchasing land for new development projects.

'Last year was an important time for us as we conducted the largest office transaction in the history of Skanska’s CEE activity - a four building portfolio sale, comprising projects located in two Polish regional cities, Krakow and Katowice. It was also the largest transaction conducted in the CEE office market in 2015,' said Adrian Karczewicz, transaction director at Skanska Commercial Development Europe (CDE).

'This deal, combined with the closing of the Green Horizon, Dominikanski and Malta House transactions, represented 25% of the total office sector volume nationwide, and more than 45% of the sector’s overall volume in Polish regional cities,' Karczewicz said. 'In addition, three more buildings, located in Prague, Ostrava and Bucharest, found buyers last year too. We saw increasing investor interest in office developments.'

Despite a slight dip in yields, CEE investment products often provide a higher return than similar assets located in western European countries, he pointed out.

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TOP INVESTORS
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PropertyEU is currently compiling its ranking of Top Investors based on transaction volume in 2015. The ranking is based on a survey questionnaire sent to investors and reports such as above by investors on real estate acquisitions and disposal volumes.

Haven’t received a survey request? Please send information on total investment and disposal volumes, plus a list with details of top deals, to Deals Editor Cormac Mac Ruairi at research@propertyeu.info

The ranking is published in March 2016.