Friday, 14 March 2025
ERSTE Open-Ended Real Estate Investment Fund has acquired two industrial warehouses from HelloParks in Hungary, marking the largest transaction in the country’s industrial real estate market in the past decade. The PT2 and PT3 buildings, located in the HelloParks Budapest West megapark, offer a total of 84,000 square meters of logistics and industrial space. The deal between ERSTE’s Real Estate Fund and Futureal Group’s industrial property division is notable for its size and significance within the sector.
Each warehouse spans 42,000 square meters and has been developed to meet BREEAM New Construction’s Outstanding rating, a sustainability standard achieved by only a small percentage of buildings globally. The properties also comply with EU Taxonomy regulations, making them unique within Hungary’s industrial real estate landscape. The warehouses are occupied by international logistics firms, including Gebrüder Weiss and Transdanubia, and despite the sale, HelloParks will continue to manage their technical operations.
According to Gábor Futó, founder of HelloParks and Futureal Group, the transaction reflects a renewed investor interest in Hungary’s industrial and logistics sector. He highlighted the strong demand for space and rental growth, driven by nearshoring and industrialization trends, while also noting the limited availability of ESG-compliant facilities. Balázs Pázmány, Chairman of the Board at Erste Alapkezelő Zrt., described the acquisition as part of ERSTE’s strategy to expand its industrial real estate portfolio with high-quality, sustainable properties that offer long-term returns. Rudolf Nemes, CEO of HelloParks, pointed to increasing EU regulatory requirements as a factor driving tenant demand for environmentally sustainable warehouses.
The buildings are equipped with advanced systems to optimize energy use and efficiency. They feature heat pump-based cooling and heating, rooftop solar panels that can eliminate primary grid energy consumption for offices, and an intelligent building management system that monitors and adjusts heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and other utilities. A proprietary mobile app allows tenants to control lighting, ventilation, and temperature while tracking energy usage in real time.
The HelloParks Budapest West megapark, located along the M1 motorway in Budapest’s western agglomeration, is a key logistics hub. The 87-hectare site is planned to accommodate 384,000 square meters of industrial space, with 142,000 square meters already completed and an additional 42,000 square meters expected to be delivered this year. In addition to the newly acquired PT2 and PT3 warehouses, the megapark includes the 58,000-square-meter PT1 facility, the largest contiguous modern industrial building in the Budapest metropolitan area. Across the three completed warehouses, occupancy rates are approaching 90%, supporting approximately 550 jobs.
