Martin Grainger, Head of Portfolio Development

With the recent stability in the Czech Republic and continued growth of property prices in Romania it seems that the real estate market in CEE is still moving forward - and fast.

It therefore seems appropriate to look at other markets including those we have touched on before.

After the Christmas break I found a spare week to visit Slovakia and the Czech Republic to look at past and present sites, speak to our partners about the next 12 months and get a feel for some of the cities we intend on investing in this year.

What stood out on my trip was the City of Kosice, in the far east of Slovakia.
Having visited many countries in CEE already I didn't have much hope for this area and braced myself for the worst.

I was not just pleasantly surprised with what I found here but shocked at what a beautiful city I was in and new very little about.

As soon as you arrive in the centre you are graced with perfectly constructed architecture, friendly locals, culture and bags of history. The old town spreads further than it would seem on the map and statues and cathedrals adorn the eye line.

Having spent a few hours walking around I went back to the hotel to investigate the City and prepare to look at our first development here, Brewery Cassovar.

Kosice is a regional administrative centre and Eastern Slovakia's hub of industry, commerce, science and culture.

The city has a population of over 250,000, unemployment is dropping quickly and FDI is flooding into the area.

Companies such as Ernst and Young, IBM and Siemens have offices here while US Steel have created 17,000 jobs invigorating the local economy. In total over 600 foreign companies have moved to Kosice.

The new build property market is relatively unknown here and even without it property prices have grown steadily. As with any Eastern European market, once an influx of new build appears prices should grow at an even stronger rate.

Location wise I can see so much potential with Kosice: it is a very compact city with all amenities on the doorstep. The old town has a lovely feel to it and the business centre is very close to the centre.

US Steel has had a lot to do with the growth of the city; since forming in Kosice in the 1960's the East Slovakian Steelworks continued to grow and in 2000 was finally taken over by US Steel.

The first new build in Kosice of any worth is Brewery Cassovar; a landmark construction in the centre of the city.

Land is at a premium here and other new builds are imitation panelaks; the city is moving forward, I am pretty sure of this, the property market here is improving and waiting to explode, that is for certain.