Coffee with Craig Show – daily CRE news covering the CEE region, Tuesday, June 27, with Winston Norman, Editor and Chief of EuropaProperty.com.
Rohlig Suus Logistics develops road transport with Scandinavia
Rohlig SUUS Logistics has strengthened its position in European road transport. Poland’s largest logistics operator now offers daily connections to Scandinavia – Sweden and Norway. These deliveries are carried out by the company’s new branch in Szczecin. SUUS cooperates with the industry’s largest local operator, PostNord.
Piotr Szalkiewicz, director of international general cargo at Rohlig Suus Logistics, said, “We are aware of the growth opportunities provided by cooperation with countries such as Sweden and Norway, which is why we decided to ally with the largest operator in the region.
“The West Pomeranian region is a natural logistics hub in the context of trade with Scandinavian countries. Among other reasons, we decided to make new investments in this region,” added Marcin Grzelak, Regional Director at Rohlig SUUS Logistics.
Czech Republic is among key nearshoring destinations
According to Nearshoring, the latest report by Cushman & Wakefield, the CEE region is one of its ideal destinations: it has relatively cheap labour within Europe, an opportune geographical location and good transport infrastructure. This will allow manufacturers to save costs, including those for transport, reduce delivery times and increase flexibility in ordering. In doing so, they will avoid the risks associated with supply chain disruptions that we have seen recently, rising shipping costs and negative perceptions related to ESG.
The main target within CEE will be countries with the advantages of EU membership and are close to Western markets – especially Germany and Austria. The Czech Republic is the only country bordering both and fulfilling the other conditions – making it a hot candidate for locating production capacities.
Jiří Kristek, Partner, Head of the Industrial and Retail Warehousing Team, Cushman & Wakefield, commented: “We are already aware of more manufacturers considering the Czech Republic or the Central European region as one of their preferred destinations, so we will definitely see more of these activities that will boost the local economy and employment.”
Accolade buys multifunctional complex near Prague Airport
Accolade Group has expanded its portfolio with the acquisition of Karlovarská Business Park. The group has acquired a majority stake from the Czech real estate fund Conseq Realitní. The complex includes four buildings with a total area of 19,500 sqm used for e-commerce, logistics, offices and retail. The transaction was brokered by CBRE.
“The acquisition of the park fits perfectly into our investment strategy, in which diversification of the portfolio in terms of tenants and regions is key for us,” said Lukáš Répal, Chief Operating Officer of Accolade. Current tenants of the site include bus and coach manufacturer EvoBus, healthcare company Fresenius Medical Care and HVAC manufacturer Lindab.
Interest in mixed-use complexes growing
There is growing interest in mixed-use projects in the Czech Republic. Unfortunately, the construction of such spaces in the Czech Republic still lags behind that in neighbouring countries. The main reason for this is the very long building permitting processes. In Poland, for example, it takes only a few months to get a building permit, whereas here it usually takes years.
“So-called mixed-use projects are still rare in our country. These are absolutely unique, progressive projects that can combine, for example, offices, shops, housing or space for various forms of social activities. Although we are currently seeing larger developments in the market, functions often remain separate or the projects are too fragmented,” explains Josef Stanko at Colliers.
“For office tenants, it is attractive to offer their employees all the amenities they need close to the workplace, while for shops and gastronomy services, it is an advantage to concentrating potential customers in one place. When culture and housing are added to the mix, it is an ideal combination for users,” explains Josef Stanko.