Polish central bank leaves rates alone

Poland’s economy may have grown last year, unlike all of its European brethren, but its central bank continues to see no danger of inflation. In its first meeting since the death of its governor in the tragic plane crash at Smolensk, the Monetary Policy Council  left the seven-day reference rate at 3.5%, a level it’s been at for ten months now.

“Given that economic growth is driven mainly by exports and demand is unlikely to grow rapidly, the inflation rebound should be rather moderate in the second half of the year, also thanks to stronger zloty and falling producer prices,” said Rafal Benecki, senior economist at ING Bank Slaski in Warsaw.

Ryanair to quit expensive Prague

Management at Prague’s international airport apparently thinks it’s got enough business as it is, and refused to do a deal with Ryanair. The airline had offered to open a base in the Czech capital, thereby stepping up its volume of traffic, but the airport refused to budge. Ryanair will cease all flights to the city by the fall.

New Aupark to open

After years of work, Slovak developer HB Reavis will finally expand its Aupark brand of shopping centers in the town of Piestany, around an hour northeast of Bratislava between the towns of Trnava and Trencin. The new 10,000 sqm center will feature 60 shops and represents an investment of €25m.

Greek comedy / tragedy

If you don’t like satire, if you don’t really get irony or if dark humor just isn’t your thing, then give this a miss. Otherwise, it’s a good end of the euro week read.

Greece Declares Unilateral Withdrawal from Reality

ATHENS—The Greek government announced today that Greece was permanently withdrawing from reality, effective immediately.  “After careful consideration of all our options, we have determined that this is the best course of action for Greece at this difficult time,” Greek Finance Minister George Papakantpeydabillous said in a statement written in fairy dust.  Asked whether the withdrawal was a response to Greece’s debt crisis, Papakantpeydabillous made clear that the withdrawal was comprehensive.  “We’re not just talking about economic reality.  We fully intend to ignore reality in every way, shape and form.  We’re sick and tired of being straight-jacketed by the inflexible dictates of objective experience,” he said.  Papakantpeydabillous added that the withdrawal was not a radical departure for Greece.  “Actually, our de facto withdrawal occurred several years ago — we just figured it was time to make it official.”

Panattoni unveils new website

Panattoni is proud of its updated website, which it’s just unveiled to the world. Check it out for yourself at www.panattoni.pl

Court upholds Orco share increase

The attempt by activist shareholders in Orco to nullify recent share increases has apparently been thwarted after a Luxemburg court ruled there was nothing improper about the move. Millenius Investissements, Clannathone Stern and Bugle Investments claim the purpose of the share increase was to reduce their ability to unseat Orco CEO JF Ott, but Ott has insisted the company simply needs the new equity.

This decision shall put an end to the attempts of these isolated shareholders to unhinge the group and its management during a critical period

Bucharest credit rating improves

The rating agency Fitch has upgraded the outlook for the city of Bucharest from negative to stable. At the same time, it left its long-term foreign currency rating at BB+ and its local currency rating at BB-. There are lots more details here, but the report says that having been hit hard by the recession, which saw a decrease in business and in tax-raising potential for the city, 2010 should see some improvement. The city’s improved rating will depend on Romania’s ability to stay in the good books of the agencies.

Horizon Plaza sale (finally) official

Union Investment made its purchase of IVG’s Horizon Plaza official today with a press release. Regular readers of  CIJ Blog will recall that we broke the story back in the beginning of February (and in the February issue of CIJ).

According to Union Investment’s release, “Union Investment has acquired the Horizon Plaza office building in Warsaw from IVG Immobilien AG in a transaction worth around €103m.” The deal is the second Polish investment for the UniImmo: Global open-ended real estate fund. Union Investment previously purchased a shopping center in Katowice for €95m in October 2008.

Completed in 2009, the Horizon Plaza offers 38,000 square meters of space, including 32,700 sqm of office, a 3,200 sqm retail area along with additional storage space. Located in a prime location in Mokotow, Warsaw’s second largest office submarket, the building is 90% leased.

31,000 sqm deal in CZ for ProLogis

Here’s one for that trio of research teams we mentioned yesterday: ProLogis has signed up logistics services provider Eurogate for 31,000 sqm in its ProLogis Park Pilsen-Stenovice. Eurogate specializes in supply chain solutions for the retail and electronics industry. The industrial park at Pilsen, in the west of the Czech Republic, offers 59,000 sqm of space in three buildings and is adjacent to the D5 motorway that connects Prague and Pilsen to the German border.

CZ agency trio share industrial data

CB Richard Ellis, DTZ and King Sturge have banded together in the Czech Republic to share data on the industrial market. They’re sharing it with the public as well, beginning with Q1 2010 results:

-total stock of A class warehouse space in the Czech Republic is 3.36 million sqm, of which 44% is in the Greater Prague area (this excludes owner-occupied stock)

-69,000 sqm was under construction in Q1 2010. No new supply hit the market

-567,000 sqm of space was vacant in Q1, a rate of 16.9%

-take-up including renegotiations totalled 158,000 for Q1. Without them it was 109,000 sqm

New Orco shareholders announced

For those who are counting, Orco has disclosed the names of the companies who have recently bought stakes in the developer, a move which has diluted existing shareholders. Landsdowne Capital now has a 7.43% stake, Neptun Invest holds 5.5% (both from the second sale of shares). A further €3m in shares were sold to Finplat and Hillgrove Investments. A total of €16.2m worth of shares has been sold in the past month.

ProLogis does deals on 52,000 sqm in Chorzów

ProLogis has leased another 52,000 sqm of space in Poland through three new deals at ProLogis Park Chorzów.  Logistics provider Raben has taken 28,800 sqm of space in Buildings One and Two. FM Logistics has meanwhile agreed to a 19,500 sqm facility in Building One. Ponetex signed up for 4,000 sqm in Building Three. The park offers 233,00 sqm of office and warehouse space right along the A4 which connects Germany and Ukraine.