Join Craig Smith and Winston Norman on the Coffee with Craig Show for your daily dose of CRE news in the CEE region, brought to you by EuropaProperty.com.
Eika Real Estate Fund Acquires BIG Office Building in Kraków
Eika Real Estate Fund (EREF) has purchased the BIG office building in Kraków from Ghelamco. This modern building, constructed in 2018, spans nearly 11,000 sqm and is mostly occupied by tenants, including State Street Bank. EREF is looking to expand its investments in Poland, focusing on logistics, offices, and retail parks.
Viktorija Orkinė, Head of Eika Asset Management, commented, “For investors, Poland currently offers great investment opportunities. With foreign investors retreating from Poland, the majority of its office market liquidity has concentrated in Warsaw, leaving the regional city office market liquidity scarcer. As a result, we are in a position to negotiate with large international players and acquire offices at attractive prices that were not available before”, she says.
StudentSpace Starts Construction on First Projects in Kraków
StudentSpace, a student housing platform launched by Signal Capital Partners, Griffin Capital Partners, and Echo Investment, has begun construction on its first dormitory projects in Kraków. These two new dormitories, located in prime areas near universities, will accommodate over 1,200 students. The first site will house around 600 students, while the second will accommodate 630 students. Both projects are set to open by the 2025/2026 academic year. StudentSpace also plans to expand to Warsaw and other key academic cities, aiming to build 5,000 beds over the next few years.
Colman McCarthy, Partner, Real Estate Investments at Signal Capital Partners, says: “These investments underscore our commitment to advancing the PBSA market in Poland by developing projects of enhanced quality, strategically located in prime city areas to meet and exceed student expectations.”
Nebil Senman, Co-Owner and Managing Partner at Griffin Capital Partners adds: “A significant issue for students in Polish cities is the limited availability of private-operated housing and the poor quality of university-operated housing. The strength of the PBSA sector is driven not only by the growing number of international students but also by elevated expectations from the domestic sector.”
EBRD and Raiffeisen Bank Provide €110 Million for Solar Plants in Romania
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Raiffeisen Bank International are jointly providing €110 million to finance the construction of two solar power plants in south-eastern Romania. These plants, with a combined capacity of around 300 MW, are part of Romania’s push to increase renewable energy. The projects are expected to generate 386 GW/h of renewable electricity annually, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by about 160,000 tonnes per year.
Grzegorz Zielinski, EBRD Head of Energy Europe, said: “We are excited to support Nofar Energy’s renewable energy investments in Romania, with the support of the InvestEU guarantee. These solar power plants will increase Romania’s renewable capacity, supporting the country’s ambition to add 11.9 GW of new renewable capacity by 2030.”
