According to JLL, commercial real estate agency, investor activity in the first quarter of 2020 maintained at an extremely high level as a continuation of the record-breaking last year. All sectors total investment volume reached almost €1.8 billion, the second highest level ever recorded over the first three months of the year (the only better first quarter in the history of Polish investment market was Q1 2018 with €2.080 billion transacted including large portfolio transaction – Project Chariot representing circa €1 billion).

Such an excellent result was possible due to high investor activity in the industrial market, which witnessed transactions of over €1 billion, as well as the office market, with properties worth almost €620 million changing hands. This means that both industrial and office sectors recorded their best ever start of a year. In addition, the value of transactions in the industrial market was higher than any year-round result achieved prior to 2018. The value of transactions in the retail segment totaled approx. €110 million, with the residential segment coming in with over €40 million and no transactions in the hotel market.

Similarly to the previous year, European capital prevailed in Q1 2020 and accounted for almost 40 percent of the total transactions' volume. Asian investors, who were responsible for over 32 percent of invested capital, were especially interested in the Industrial properties. In terms of single-country interest, the largest share of activity was generated by investors from the USA, who represented 16 percent of the overall investment volume.

Throughout Q1 2020, over 57 percent of total investment volumes closed in the industrial sector. Such a strong result was mainly driven by large portfolio transactions. The market reported numerous deals exceeding a volume of €100 million, there of the most meaningful were: the portfolio sale of five Panattoni properties to Savills Investment Management

(€188 million), Hines distribution parks to CGL and the purchase by GIC Private of a portfolio of six logistics properties from funds managed by the Apollo Global Management group.

(WBJ)