EuropaProperty proudly hosted the 6th annual CRE Awards at the prestigious Intercontinental Hotel in Budapest, drawing a vibrant crowd of real estate leaders and professionals from Central and Eastern Europe. The event celebrated the industry’s brightest stars and recognized innovation, development, investment, and management excellence.
This year’s gala, with an atmosphere of excitement and prestige, honoured a diverse group of distinguished winners and showcased the region’s finest real estate achievements. Attendees, including top developers, investors, and market professionals, came together to celebrate the visionaries driving progress in the sector.
This year’s awardees have demonstrated exceptional commitment to advancing the real estate industry in Central and Eastern Europe. From innovative proptech solutions to large-scale development projects, each winner has made significant contributions to the sector’s growth and modernization.
About the CRE Awards
The Commercial Real Estate Awards are a prestigious recognition of excellence within the Central and Eastern European property industry. Celebrating its 6th year, the awards showcase exceptional individuals, companies, and projects that have significantly impacted the region’s real estate market.
Winners
Category: Professional Service Provider
Newmark VLK Hungary, a Newmark Global Partner, is a member of the Newmark Global Network, based in Budapest and led by Valter Kalaus. Newmark VLK Hungary delivers value for clients in the office, industrial, retail, hospitality and leisure property markets.
Category: Proptech Innovation Provider
R8 Technologies is the leading artificial intelligence (AI) Technology company that manages over 4 Million sqm of commercial real estate across Europe for their decarbonization and technical management efficiency. Its data-driven AI solution, R8 Digital Operator Jenny, helps achieve climate-neutral real estate worldwide by improving the efficiency of real estate operations, including office and public buildings, shopping malls, hotels, etc.
Category: Project Management Firm
Since 1885, the firm has been bringing to life new ideas and big visions for the built environment. In today’s fast-changing world, it continually connects people, places, ideas and possibilities to make every day another step towards a better future. As independent consultants, Gleeds gives its clients advice that’s reassuringly free from any conflict of interest. With over 30 years of experience in the CEE region, the firm is adept at finding solutions for local challenges.
Category: Property Management Firm
CBRE Group, a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Dallas, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm. The company has over 130,000 employees (excluding Turner & Townsend employees) serving clients in more than 100 countries. Whether it’s a local, regional, national, or global assignment, CBRE applies insight, experience, intelligence and resources to help clients make informed business decisions.
Category: Serviced Offices Provider
New Work is an independent serviced office provider operating within the Central and Eastern European Region (CEE). Strategically located offices in Poland, Hungary, and Bulgaria serve as a welcoming hub for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), corporate entities, and freelance professionals alike. New Work is renowned for outstanding customer care and office spaces that seamlessly blend the elements of focused work and networking.
Category: Law Firm
At LKT, the firm prides itself on being an independent, internationally-focused law firm, dedicated to advising foreign investors on their ventures in Hungary. The aim is to become the go-to referral partner for international law firms seeking expertise in the Hungarian market. Originally established as Clifford Chance’s Budapest office from 1993 to 2009, LKT has since evolved into a distinguished independent firm. This independence extends not only from other firms but also from government influence, ensuring unbiased and robust legal representation.
Category: Agency
CBRE Group, a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Dallas, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm. The company has over 130,000 employees (excluding Turner & Townsend employees) serving clients in more than 100 countries. Whether it’s a local, regional, national, or global assignment, CBRE applies insight, experience, intelligence and resources to help clients make informed business decisions.
Category: Rising Star Agency
Avalon Real Estate, a boutique consultancy, offers specialized services in all real estate segments. Its expertise spans diverse sectors, such as office spaces, industrial properties and land, retail units, residential, project management and valuations, where it provides tailored solutions to meet the unique needs of its clients.
Category: Asset Management Firm
ZEITGEIST Asset Management is a real estate asset management company. It focuses on sustainable and ESG-compliant value creation. Since 2014, it has been investing in key asset classes for private and institutional investors across Europe. It currently manages 60 projects in five countries (Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Germany, Italy), with a total value of €1 billion under asset management and a total area of land of 480,000 sqm.
https://www.zeitgeist.re/en/home
Category: Bank
K&H Real Estate Finance, as a strategic business line of the Specialized Finance Services & Financial Markets Directorates, leverages the expertise and efficiency of a dedicated team of commercial real estate finance experts with the following strong credentials. Growth strategy with a key focus on financing best-in-class local projects with high ESG certifications and on keeping/expanding long-standing K&H/KBC relationships with prime local/international sponsors active in Hungary.
Category: Investment Deal of the Year:
This deal marks one of the largest BTS agreements in the domestic logistics market. The newly developed, tailor-made 32,000 sqm logistics centre will serve Rossmann’s retail network with state-of-the-art, semi-automated warehousing and stock management solutions. The development has new solutions according to the newest ESG trends and should receive the BREEAM Very Good qualification. Based in Hungary, OTP Real Estate Fund is an open-end fund that invests primarily in Hungarian real estate.
https://panattonieurope.com/en-hu
Category: Investor of the Year
A regional, leading and independent Real Estate Investment Fund Manager operating under the AIFM regime specialised in the CEE. The Group’s exceptional sourcing, asset management and execution skills are acknowledged and valued by investors and financing banks alike. This is a testament to its investment strategy, core acquisition, and asset management expertise of Adventum. Its ESG strategy is focused on the reduction of lifetime CO2 emissions and is guided by international sustainability agenda and conventions such as the Paris Agreement.
Category: Hotel Developer of the Year
More than 1000 hotel rooms have been built and operated by the company. As a partner to leading corporations, it provides long-term solutions to their international real estate needs. By today, over the 25 years of WING’s existence, partners, tenants and the real estate market have identified WING as a reliable, financially stable, professional and fair partnership. The company also achieved important milestones in several developments last year: the first phase of WING’s mixed-use development, Liberty received its occupancy permit, and the soft opening of the Liberty Hotel took place at the end of the year. Moreover, the second phase was also delivered this year.
Category: Residential Developer of the Year
Biggeorge Property Plc. and its subsidiaries have developed 3,025 apartments and 167,514 sqm of office, industrial, and logistics properties. With assets worth around HUF 177 billion, the company currently has 1,000 residential units under construction and plots available for an additional 2,533 apartments. Residential projects include developments in various districts of Budapest and locations by Lake Balaton. The company’s logistics division, LogStar, manages 100 hectares of industrial land and multiple leasable logistics facilities.
Category: Warehouse Developer of the Year
HelloParks is an innovative industrial real estate development company based in Hungary. It offers comprehensive, client-centred solutions from land development through building construction to site maintenance. HelloParks uses environmentally friendly, sustainable, and high-quality engineering solutions to create futuristic megaparks that provide long-term value for its partners.
Category: Office Developer of the Year
WING has delivered significant projects, including 356,000 square meters of office space, with 52,000 more in progress. Its international activities are coordinated by WING International, offering long-term real estate solutions to multinational clients. Recognized for its reliability, financial stability, and professional partnerships, WING has recently completed major developments like Liberty’s first phase and the Liget Center project. The group prioritizes sustainability, with all new office buildings since 2017 being BREEAM and/or LEED certified. In 2024, WING achieved a milestone by sourcing 47% of its real estate portfolio’s electricity from renewable energy in Hungary.
Category: Future Project:
The nearly 65,000 sqm site, which has a rich industrial history and has been in disrepair for decades, will undergo a complete revitalisation through the construction of six modern buildings to provide facilities for entrepreneurs and companies. The project will also introduce the new CTWorkshop concept – flexible spaces, especially for small entrepreneurs who value cross-industry collaboration and local business development.
Category: Hotel Project of the Year
The project is divided into two main parts: a hotel and commercial spaces. The hotel is accessible from both the second street and the main street via a small pathway, creating a pedestrian connection. Between the hotel and commercial areas lies a central courtyard that serves as a gathering space and includes a closed swimming pool, an open-air theatre, a multipurpose room, and an exhibition space. This courtyard minimizes noise from the main street and supports various social activities.
Category: Residential Project of the Year
The building was acquired in June 2024 by Recorde Forestay Residence Real Estate Fund, managed by Recorde Asset Management, the real estate fund management arm of Concorde Group, in close strategic cooperation with Forestay Group acting as co-investor and development manager. The acquisition and refurbishment are financed by a loan provided by the Austrian HYPO BANK NOE AG. The student hotel concept is an innovative approach to real estate development that reflects the continuously rising number of international students in Budapest, as well as the growing touristic demand, therefore Recorde and Forestay have been actively seeking a project suitable for a similar repurposing for a long time.
Category: Mixed-use Project of the Year
In 2010, the competition for the development of an urban architectural solution for the Westgate – Split business complex was announced. The winning proposal was made by the well-known Croatian architect Otto Baric and his team. The winning proposal consists of two towers – tower A and tower B. Tower B, as the tallest building in Croatia, is the subject of this application, and forms an independent functional unit within the urban solution of the complex. Tower B, consists of 28 above-ground floors and 6 underground floors, with a total height of 110 m, and with total area of 35,000 sqm. Tower B is designed for mixed-use – offices and a hotel, divided through the floors.
Category: Best BTS Project
Panattoni Hungary is the developer behind two large BTS development projects by Germany’s ZF Chassis Modules totalling approx 33.000 sqm. The 2 developments were managed parallel in Debrecen and Kecskemét. These facilities are set to manufacture advanced automotive components such as shock absorbers and front and rear axles for electric vehicles, specifically for the upcoming plants of major European OEMs in these cities. The speciality of these developments is, that these projects were already sold to investors at the beginning.
Category: Warehouse Project of the Year
HelloParks Alsónémedi (Budapest South) is the company’s most ambitious project, located near the junction of the M0 and M5 motorways and a container terminal with rail access in the southern logistics and industrial submarket of Budapest, just 20 minutes from the International Airport. A particularly attractive destination for automotive suppliers operating along the Kecskemét-Szeged axis, among others. A 60,000 sqm BigBox-type hall is currently under construction on the 13.5-hectare site, which will be the largest speculative industrial development in Hungary to date.
Category: Office Project of the Year
The Liget Center project, developed by WING, consists of 3 buildings: the Liget Center Classic, Liget Center Auditorium, and the glass-fronted Vitrum office building, in the landscaped courtyard in Budapest’s 6th District, on a corner plot at the intersection of Dózsa György út and Városligeti fasor, opposite the new Museum of Ethnography. Together, the three buildings frame a private, quiet inner courtyard. This is a green environment that is located next to key tourist destinations as the City Park is right next door and Heroes’ Square, as well as several cultural, sports and leisure facilities, are also located nearby.
Category: Professional of the Year
Noteworthy achievements for Bence Boronkay include the sales of Faedra22 Park in Hungary to an international investor and the launch of a Hungarian I&L Fund.
Category: Lifetime Achievement Award
A mathematician-turned-entrepreneur, Futó has led the real estate group to become a European powerhouse, delivering over 200 projects spanning 4 million sqm of new developments and employing over 600 people across 7 countries. Under his leadership, the group issued €700 million in bonds, expanded internationally, and developed iconic projects like Budapest’s Corvin Promenade. Futó’s ventures span residential, office, and industrial developments, with a focus on revitalization and innovation.