Poland Today conferences 2013-2018 by Poland Today

Poland Today conferences 2013-2018

Poland Transform & internation

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POLAND TRANSFORMED

Telling Poland’s story to the world

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Poland Transformed

photos: Piotr Dziubak, Arkadiusz Chłapik

Poland Today gives 50 journalists from five continents a first-hand look at the country’s transformation

The Poland Transformed conference hosted journalists from around the globe in Warsaw, ensuring Poland’s success story as heard by an international audience Fifty

journalists from around the world took part in the Poland Transformed conference held by Poland Today at the end of May. Their home countries ranged from Albania to Argentina, Iceland to Japan. The conference aimed to give them the information they needed to tell the story of Poland’s successful transformation to their home audiences – and that they did. Find a sampling of just some of the articles that were written in this section. Along with attendance at the conference, the journalists took part in a special informational session at the Warsaw Stock Exchange to hear from officials there about Poland’s transformation and the stock market’s role in it. The conference’s partners received exclusive access to the journalists – special interview sessions were held where they were able to tell their story. The journalists also received detailed

Publications participating in the Poland Today ‘Poland Transformed’ international press tour were as follows:

– Albania: Monitor – Algeria: L’Echo – Austria: Wirtschaftsblatt – Belgium: De Standaard – Brazil: Folha – Bulgaria: Capital Weekly – China: Renmin Ribao – Czech Republic: Hospodářské Noviny – Denmark: Polennu – Estonia: Eesti Päevaleht information packages about each – Finland: Suomen Kuvalehti of the conference partners. – France: Le Monde “Since I consider myself to be an – Germany: Deutsche Welle, Suddeutsche Zeitung, ZDF TV advanced Polonophile, the conference for me was an excellent opportunity – Greece: To Vima – Hungary: Magyar Nemzet, Figyelo to enhance my knowledge and con– Iceland: Kjarninn tact base,” said Hospodářské Noviny’s – Ireland: The Irish Times, RTÉ Martin Ehl of the Czech Republic. – Israel: i24News “It was very interesting to visit your – Italy: La Repubblica, Il Sole 24 Ore country for the first time and now – Japan: Nihon Keizai Shinbun / Nikkei News – Latvia: LETA I can definitely say that I have fallen in – Lithuania: IQ Magazine love with Poland,” said Maria Ivanina, – Mexico: L’Expansion, Revista Proceso a reporter for the Russian ITAR-TASS – The Netherlands: Nederlands Dagblad, De Telegraaf news agency. “The conference was highly inform- – Portugal: Expresso – Qatar: Al Jazeera ative and stimulating. ... A gateway to – Romania: Adevarul, Foreign Policy Romania contacts with Polish managers and – Russia: Kommersant, ITAR-TASS others in key positions, and also a great – Slovenia: Business Daily Finance meeting of no less then 50 colleagues – South Africa: SAKE 24 from all over the world. Thoroughly – Spain: El Mundo, El Pais – Sweden: Sydsvenskan enjoying and useful,” said Hilbrand – Turkey: Dünya Gazetesi, Hurriyet Daily News Rozema, a journalist at Nederlands – UK: The Economist Dagblad in the Netherlands. – USA: The New York Times, Stratfor

Spain

25 years of the Polish miracle by Pablo R. Suanzes There is a country in Europe where the confidence of the political and economic elite is overflowing. Talk of the future is positive. That after economic growth of only 2% in 2012 and 1.6% in 2013, while 3.3% is expected for 2014. From 1992 it has recorded an average annual increase in GDP of 4.1%. And since 2003, the beginning of the crisis, it has grown by 3%. It is a place where unemployment (9.3%) is relatively low. A country that aspires to be the leader of the East, but always speaks of itself as in the centre of Europe. It is a country that looks at the euro fondly, though with interest rates having fallen to a record low (2.5%) and after benefiting from wage competitiveness, is in no hurry to join. That country is Poland. ... Poland is enjoying a sweet moment. The macro figures are good, major cities are on the rebound and quality of life has improved. This comes as investment is solid and there are more tourists. ... “We are a very competitive economy, we have a great entrepreneurial spirit and economic policy has been good in recent years. There have been no bubbles, debt is below European standards and our financial system is healthier than in the rest of Europe because of strong regulation,” stresses Jacek Socha, a former finance minister and adviser to successive governments over the past two decades.

Finland

Poland goes from sick man of Europe to EU power broker by Teppo Tiilikainen At the turn of the 1990s, Poland was still one of the region’s poorest countries, but it has come a long way, becoming the most dynamic state in Central and Eastern Europe. Twentyfive years ago, Poland’s most important export was coal, agriculture was in decline, and high inflation hampered economic development. Even prospects for Ukraine looked more promising. It had a significant aircraft manufacturing industry and its agriculture sector was in good condition. The Polish and Ukrainian economies at that time were about the same size, but now Poland’s GDP is more than three times higher. ... Behind Poland’s success story stands the daring policy of economic reform called ‘shock therapy’, led at the time by Finance Minister Leszek Balcerowicz and Harvard University economics professor Jeffrey Sachs. The currency was made exchangeable, and subsidies for state-owned firms were discontinued. The monopoly position of the state in foreign trade was demolished, and the central bank was no longer allowed to fill gaps in the state budget. “Poland was transformed into a market economy in one fell swoop,” said Professor Witold Orłowski, an economic advisor to Prime Minister Donald Tusk. “It was a very difficult process. In the beginning businesses did not succeed on the global market, but now we are competitive.”

Hungary

Respect Warsaw! by Lambert Gábor Poland’s economic policy, while struggling with many challenges, also sets a good example for how well thought-out and meaningful reforms can be consistently implemented. ... “In the mid 1990s, one could only hear that the region’s capital would be Budapest or Prague, but certainly not Warsaw,” said Richard Stephens, editor in chief of Poland Today. The publication organised a large-scale conference that commemorated how 25 years ago, on June 4, 1989 – long before the Berlin Wall fell – the partially free elections in Poland began the collapse of the system that had come into being at Yalta. At the conference, journalists from 50 countries around the world heard prominent presenters from Polish economic and business circles express success, self-confidence and satisfaction.

pOLAND tRANSFORMED

Opposite page:

international journalists pose with officials from the Warsaw Stock Exchange, Colliers International and Poland Today after participating in a seminar hosted by the WSE on the development of Poland’s economy and its capital market.

POLAND tRANSFORMED

Leisure time:

The press tour also included a picturesque boat trip down the Vistula River in Warsaw. Journalists had a chance to take in the sights, as well as rub shoulders with some of the conference partners.

Czech Republic

The (New) Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship by Martin Ehl In a year full of historically freighted European anniversaries, a particularly symbolic one will be celebrated this week. Poles voted 25 years ago on 4 June in the first semi-free parliamentary elections in the Eastern bloc. They voted under a (now) famous poster depicting a cowboy from an American Western, High Noon, who, instead of a gun, held a ballot and asked people to vote for Solidarnosc, the Solidarity movement. Thus, from the beginning Polish democracy had an American flavor. This anniversary is especially meaningful for Poland, which is living in stability and prosperity without precedence in its history, according to a study by World Bank economist Marcin Pitkowski.

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Poland Transformed

The Netherlands

Poland is Eastern Europe’s growth tiger by Rob Savelberg

Ireland

A tale of two Polands: the cowed country that has turned into a European leader by Derek Scally World leaders, led by US president Barack Obama, will pay tribute to two Polands today. The first is the Poland that, on this date 25 years ago, went to the polls and changed the course of European history. The second is today’s Poland: a transformed place almost four times the size of Ireland whose time has come. On June 4th, 1989, a landslide vote saw Poland’s opposition Solidarity movement win almost all parliamentary seats made available by the dwindling communist regime to other political parties. After four decades under a Soviet shadow, the result set out shockwaves that, four months later, toppled the Berlin Wall.

A quarter century after the end of communism, Poland is the best student in the Eastern European class. The country is brimming with health and progress. Of all the EU member states only Poland had positive economic growth during the financial crisis. ... Young ladies with high heels parade through the clean, polished streets with fashionable bags in their hands. In the cafés and restaurants you can find exquisite food at modest prices. What a difference from the past, recognizes Andrzej Dulka, CEO of the Polish branch of telecom company Alcatel-Lucent. “In 1989 you had to wait two days to make a call abroad.” Only 12% of the population had a fixed telephone line. Now, there are 145 million mobile phones in Poland.

The Netherlands

pOLAND tRANSFORMED

Poland celebrates 25 years of freedom and democracy by Hilbrand Rozema With the huge election victory for Solidarity 25 years ago, the Russian retreat from throughout Eastern Europe began. Regimes began to fall like dominoes. Months later, the Berlin Wall fell. Almost every Pole over 35 years old remembers how the newly elected first Prime Minister Mazowiecki reached out his long arm and made the ‘V’ for victory sign in parliament. The photo of that moment by the British-Polish photographer Chris Niedenthal has become iconic. Moreover, German Chancellor Merkel points out that Eastern Europe’s liberation from communism really began in Poland, not in Berlin. The images of the fall of the Wall was on the world stage were so powerful and symbolic that many now overlook the fact that the Poles kicked off the revolution on June 4, 1989. Merkel reminds Germans regularly that the victory began not in Germany but in Poland. She thus emphasizes the friendship between the two countries. Another sign of neighbourly goodwill is the German title ‘Wirtschaft Wunderland’ for Poland – economic wonderland.

Exclusive access:

Partners of the Poland Transformed conference were granted exclusive interview sessions with the international journalists, ensuring that they had a chance to send their message about their participation in the country’s transformation to a global audience.

Turkey

Poland is the EU’s fastest by Hilal Sari

The United States

In Poland, the Truth Lives in Warsaw by Adriano Bosoni 2014 is a very meaningful year for Poland because it marks the 25th anniversary of the 1989 elections, which paved the way for the fall of communism in the country. It is also the 10th anniversary of Poland’s accession to the European Union, which gave the Poles the feeling that they had finally returned to Europe. Few places in Poland are as representative of these changes as Warsaw. Throughout the 20th century, the Polish capital was at the center of Europe’s collective tragedy, suffering the consequences of the murderous and extremist ideologies that defined the century. It’s impossible to fully assess the scale of death, destruction and cultural plunder that took place in the city. And yet Warsaw is one of Europe’s greatest survivors, rising from the ashes and once again standing at the heart of a country that seeks to regain its voice in Europe. Warsaw is a city of contrasts. The soulless Soviet architecture, which sought to crush the spirit and standardize the mind, coexists with both a carefully reconstructed ‘old town’ and sprouting skyscrapers. The deliberate contrast seeks to achieve a difficult synthesis between the past and the future. At the heart of the city, there’s the magnificent National Stadium, a prodigy of architecture that serves as a colossal reminder of the importance of EU funding in Polish infrastructure.

After its rapid post-communist liberalisation, Poland has separated itself from slow-growing European countries with the continent’s fastest growth figures. Polish political leaders, business people and journalists from 50 different countries, attended the ‘Poland Transformed’ conference, which was organised in Warsaw by English-language media platform Poland Today to discuss the country’s post-communist transformation over the past 25 years. The country is celebrating 25 years since its first free elections after World War II, 15 years of NATO membership and 10 years of being part of the European Union. ... Stratfor founder George Friedman, The Economist’s senior editor Edward Lucas, and former Polish Prime Minister Jan Krzysztof Bielecki, among others, discussed the factors behind Poland’s 25 years of success, the role of bussiness in the country’s transformation and Poland’s role on the global stage. The man who sat in the prime minister’s seat in Poland between 1990 and 1991, Jan Krzysztof Bielecki, gave the conference’s opening speech. “The realisation of political reform was the most important factor in achieving economic reform,” he said. Xavier Devictor from the World Bank called Poland a “champion of the region” when it came to economic reform.

Poland Transformed

Journalist Jan Cienski (left)

speaks with Poland Today editor A ndrew Kureth about Poland’s path so far, and where it has to go from here. “No one had ever done it before. Poland was the first country to break away from communism.”

at COMP Innovation Center: “Sure, the government can simplify rules on grants, make them more transparent, but all we really want from them is not to get in our way.”

photos: Piotr Dziubak, Arkadiusz Chłopik

Conference

Poland Transformed

Julian Kozankiewicz (below), COO

George Friedman (right), founder and

chairman of Stratfor: “Russia is much weaker than it looks.”

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Jan Krzysztof Bielecki (right), former prime minister: “The political reforms that Poland implemented were the strongest support for the economic reforms.”

Xavier Devictor (above), of the

World Bank: “We have seen a deep and genuine commitment on the part of the government to address problems in a systematic and pragmatic way.”

Joanna Nicińska (left) of Echo Investment: “In the early years nobody knew what the future would bring. No one taught us market economics in school, so we had to figure things out on our own.”

Witold Orłowski (below), PwC chief

economic advisor: “The driving force in Poland’s economy has been its people – not just the people, but their activity.”

Poland Transformed

Beata Stelmach (left), CEO of GE in

Conference

Poland Transformed

Poland: “We Poles like to complain but it’s not because we’re pessimistic; it’s because we set very ambitious goals for ourselves.”

Rossen Hadjiev (left), board member

of Integer.pl Group: “It is not about managing a business, it’s all about talent management; how you are going to attract people and make sure they are part of a team.”

Katarzyna Zawodna (right), CEO of

Skanska Property Poland: “In order to understand and meet customers’ needs, companies have to be able to adapt quickly and work as a team. Everyone in the company must feel accountability.”

Jacek Socha (left),

former treasury minister: “Since more than 70% of Poland’s foreign trade is with the European Union, the faster we adopt the common currency, the better for Polish entrepreneurs.”

Adam Purwin (above), CEO of PKP Cargo: “Our company is a perfect example of the impact the transformation had on individual companies. Once part of a state monopoly, we are now Europe’s first stock exchange-listed rail freight company.”

Poland Transformed

Henryka Bochniarz (right) , of

Polish Confederation Lewiatan: “During the financial crisis the fact that we did not have the euro helped Poland. But in the long run I would like us to join the euro zone in order to be able to shape it from the inside.”

Rick Lyman (below), Warsaw

bureau chief for the New York Times: “When I got the job (of Warsaw bureau chief ) people were coming up to me and saying, ‘You’re so lucky! The city is so alive. You are coming to Poland just as it is about to take off ’. ”

Adam Maciejewski (left), former CEO

photos: Piotr Dziubak, Arkadiusz Chłopik

of the Warsaw Stock Exchange : “Perhaps the crucial part was that we understood that we basically have to count on ourselves. We knew that no-one was going to help us.”

POLAND TRANSFORMED

Through the lens of history How is Poland perceived abroad, and how have perceptions changed?

Why we are together

Euro 2012 kicks off in Warsaw

Poland co-hosted the European football championships with Ukraine in the summer of 2012. The event, which was widely praised as an exemplary tournament, was a huge success. Journalist Derek Scally of the Irish Times said that the positive experience had by fans and viewers, and the goodwill Poland had earned as a result, would translate into a greater realisation among people around the world that Poland had become a modern European nation.

Conference

Poland Transformed

Poland has difficulty

escaping the shadow of its past. History looms large in Polish culture, but outside of Poland too, the country is often viewed through the lens of past events. How ever, when foreigners visit the co un tr y, their preconceptions are smashed. Seeing the Polish transformation in person, it seems, is believing. For that reason, Poland Today asked some of the 50 international journalists that joined the Poland Transformed conference to share their thoughts in a panel discussion on how Poland is perceived in their home countries, and how perceptions about the country have evolved.

‘Successes like Poland’s are the reason why we are all here, together, in the EU’

Marie Charrel from French daily newspaper Le Monde also hearkened back to the past, speaking of Poland’s “historical connection” with France (Fryderyk Chopin and Marie Skłodowska-Curie both ended up there). However, she offered a more contemporary view of Poland, pointing to the two main contexts in which the French view the country. In France, she said, Poland is seen either as a nation of “Polish plumbers” or as an EU success story – something that she said there should be more focus on. Successes like Poland’s are the reason “why we are all here, together” in the European Union, she added. Derek Scally of The Irish Times had the most positive things to say about Poland. He told the story of his firstever visit to Poland, in 2001, during which he found himself in a pub being sung to by Leszek Miller – who that very evening had been elected prime minister. Scally said that since his first eventful trip to Poland, the country has steadily become “more and more exciting ... more and more beautiful as a place to visit.” Scally also noted Poland’s image is due to change in light of the UEFA European football championships, which took place in 2012. Just as Germany became “a place to go” two to three years following the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Scally said he was “confident” that something similar would happen in Poland. As a Berlinbased journalist, Scally also noted that Germany’s impression of Poland is due to change for the better because of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s continuing praise for the country.

himself mistakenly referred to “Polish death camps” two years ago. The New York Times’ Rick Lyman noted that “the very first thing” his editors told him when he began covering Poland was to avoid making that same mistake, ‘Big cemetery’ as well as to never say that Poland For decades, Israelis have viewed is in Eastern Europe (Poles prefer Just taking off Poland as a “big Jewish cemetery” said Central Europe). When the focus is turned on contemLily Galili, a reporter from Tel AvivVladimir Vodo, from Russia’s Kom porary Poland, it becomes clear that based i24News. This is a result of the mersant newspaper, also spoke at le things have changed. Lyman, who is “bitter history” Israel and Poland share, ngth about history – a sensitive subject heading The New York Times’ newly reshe said, but added that Poland’s image for Poles and Russians. He pointed out established Warsaw bureau, described is changing. More Israelis are coming that Warsaw’s most distinctive edi- how the view of Poland has changed for tourism, and Israeli media are more fice, the Palace of Culture and Science, from within the newspaper. “Before, careful about how they portray Poland, which was originally built as a ‘gift’ from when you became the Warsaw corshe said. Historically inaccurate terms Joseph Stalin to Poland, is seen by many respondent, people would always say, that Poles find highly offensive have Poles as a “symbol of the communist ‘That’s OK, don’t worry, it will all end begun to filter out of the vocabulary enslavement and a tombstone on the soon’,” he said. “But when I got the job, Israeli media uses, she added. grave of all Polish dreams about liberty people were coming up to me and sayBut Israelis are certainly not the only and independence; a most clear indi- ing, ‘You’re so lucky! The city is so alive. ones to use phrasing that Poles find cation that Russia will never abandon You are coming to Poland just as it is about to take off’.” by Piotr Narel hurtful. US President Barack Obama its imperial ambitions.”

photos: Slawomir Olzacki (Forum)

breaks and at the cocktail party following the conference, participants had ample time to network.

Edward Lucas (right) senior editor

at The Economist: “Poland has become a bigger trading partner for Germany than Russia.”

For more information on this or other Poland Today events, as well as for exclusive news and features content, visit our newly redesigned website at: poland-today.pl

The audience,

which filled the conference hall at Endorfina Foksal in Warsaw, heard opinion and analysis from some of Poland’s most prominent business leaders.

photos: Piotr Dziubak, Arkadiusz Chłopik

Below: During the

Primetime Wars

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Primetime Warsaw conference

Poland's capital riding high

Leading property investors, developers and consultants discussed the prospects for the real estate market in the Polish capital in the upcoming years at the recent Primetime Warsaw conference organized by Poland Today.

Left: Paweł Dębowski from Dentons added a legal perspective to the real estate panel Below: Richard Ste-

phens, Poland Today's publisher and Roman Młodkowski from TVN CNBC

Above: The Mayor

of Warsaw, Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, addressed the cameras after her speech

Right: Bogdan Roga-

la of Philips Lighting Poland contributed to the sustainable urban development panel.

Above: Rafal

Trzaskowski, member of the European Parliament for Warsaw, took part in the keynote panel moderated by Roman Młodkowski from TVN CNBC.

The capital city’s

office market remains relatively robust, with net space absorption amounting to approximately 200,000 sqm in 2012, according to data presented by Tomasz Trzósło, Managing Director at Jones Lang LaSalle. There is still much tenant activity in the market but Piotr Krawczyński, MD at Kulczyk Silverstein Properties, and Waldemar Olbryk, MD at Skanska Property Poland, admitted that there are fears that this

trend will not be sustained for a long time to come. Much of the discussion focused on new office skyscrapers in Warsaw that several developers have announced of late. Maciej Zajdel, MD at IVG Group, stated that the capital is one of just a few cities in Europe in which there is room for many more highrise buildings. In his opinion, however, just three to four new office towers will actually be developed in Warsaw within the next few years, noting that high-rises are very expensive and difficult investments to build. According to Mr Zajdel, what international investors seeking office property in the Polish capital are often interested in and cannot find are mid-sized developments that can be bought for between €10 million to €20 million. Office panellists also noted that a number of areas in Warsaw, including the north of the Polish capital, the Port

Praski and Dolny Mokotów neighbourhoods and the Wilanów district are now increasingly seen as emerging office locations. Paweł Dębowski, Partner and Head of Central Europe Real Estate at Dentons law firm (formerly Salans), brought up the issue of unclear land ownership titles in Warsaw which are often a problem in office transactions. He noted that these days many developers insure their legal titles to property in the city.

Room for smaller-scale retail Discussing prospects for the retail property market in Warsaw, Anna Staniszewska, former Head of Consulting and Research at DTZ, said that the size of the city and the high purchasing power of its population mean that the capital will continue to attract new investments. There is already almost 1.7 m sqm of modern retail space

What is the business environment like in your sector?

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Paweł Dębowski, Partner & Head of Central Europe Real Estate, Dentons law firm, about the commercial property sector: There is still a lot of equity and demand

Above: Robert

Sztemberg from ECE Projektmanagement (above)

Left: Jerzy Buzek,

former European Parliament President, said he believed that Warsaw could join the top ranks of elite European capitals

for product, and acquisition finance is available at good rates and on good terms. There isn’t a problem there. I believe that this year investors are looking more at the office markets in secondary cities like Wrocław, Kraków, maybe Poznań and maybe Łódż. The market has matured - I wouldn’t call it emerging now. New players are coming up. There is a very visible differentiation between prime properties in the Warsaw central business district and non-Warsaw CBD, and that applies to secondary cities as well.

Olga Drela, research consultant at DTZ property consultancy, about the retail sector: The retail sector is very

dynamic and growing continuously. In the last two years alone - 2011 and 2012 - over 1.2 m sqm of modern retail space was delivered in Poland. The market is now developed and very competitive.

Leszek Sikora, Head of Development Poland for retail centre developer ECE Projektmanagement: We’re dealing

with a maturing market which is increasingly saturated, in some cases even over-saturated if the reference point is the purchasing power of the Polish population. There is a strong interest in prime quality income-producing product, which you can see in transaction prices. Grassroots developments, by which I mean ‘new-to-industry’ projects, are difficult and even some reasonable projects – those which are properly located, well-designed and with strong potential - cannot be launched due to lack of risk-friendly capital if there isn’t any equity to hand.

Tomasz Trzósło, Managing Director, Poland, of Jones Lang LaSalle real estate consultancy, about the office sector:

photos: Piotr Dziubak, Konrad Konstantynowicz

The market continues to provide opportunities across the sectors, although all are significantly more restricted than a couple of years ago. The limitations of the debt markets make it harder for developers to build and projects are less profitable, with the macro-economic slowdown in Europe reducing overall demand. Only developers which are financially strong and have a significant track record can continue to be successful with new projects simply because the market is smaller. For this smaller group of developers the market will continue to produce demand, both on the tenant and investor side, and they can continue to be successful.

Piotr Krawczyński, Managing Director, Member of the Board, Kulczyk Silverstein Properties, about the real estate market in general: It’s still a competitive market for core assets as demon-

strated by the €210 m sale of Warsaw Financial Center (office building) and the €475 m sale of 77% of the shares in Złote Tarasy (shopping centre) to Unibail-Rodamco. However, we are seeing liquidity disappear from the value-add and opportunistic-yielding investments in Poland. We’re finding more opportunity on a risk-adjusted basis in higher yielding assets.

Bogdan Rogala, CEO, Philips Lighting Poland: There’s a strong

focus on innovation and LED solutions as this kind of service can provide real benefits in the longer term. Philips Lighting has a significant footprint in Poland in order to be able to take advantage of the opportunities.

Left: Jarosław

Szanajca of Dom Development speaking on the residential panel of the conference.

in the Warsaw market and a further 315,000 sqm is now under construction, Ms Staniszewska said. She added that there is still room for expansion as some areas of Warsaw evidently lack retail facilities. ECE Projektmanagement Polska, which has already developed a number of shopping malls in the regional Polish cities, is now looking for investment opportunities in Warsaw, said Robert Sztemberg. He added that

ECE Projektmanagement Polska is now looking for land in the Polish capital, with a view to developing a shopping centre project that would comprise at least 40,000 sqm of retail space. Marek Koziarek, head of the commercial real estate finance department of Bank Pekao, said he believed there is also room for small local retail projects in Warsaw with catchment area limited to a particular district, rather than a larger part of the city. During the residential panel, Kazimierz Kirejczyk, President of the Management Board of residential consultancy Reas, pointed to the large number of apartments currently on offer in the Warsaw market that at the end of the first quarter stood at more than 19,400. He also noted that some developers evidently have sales problems, with many of these units located in already-completed projects or in schemes that are at

Olga Grygier-Siddons, Chairman, PwC Poland, about the general market situation: Like all of Europe, Poland has entered

a slower growth period, but it has avoided recession so far. The economy has slowed down sharply and is now growing at 1.1% after recording just 2% growth in 2012. Real GDP growth this year is expected to be around 1.3%. Export growth has slowed to below 2% after growth of over 20% in the 2010-2011 period. Business activity has also slowed down for many firms and the first quarter of 2013 is worse in terms of sales performance than the second half of 2012. Most firms now expect low single-digit growth for 2013. Many are looking to re-forecast 2013 results downwards as sales in certain sectors slump and even fall lower than in Q1 2012. Profit margin pressures are high due to extremely tough competition and market share battles.

Waldemar Olbryk, President of Skanska Property Poland, about the office sector: In the last few years the sector has devel-

oped rapidly but it’s starting to mature and so are its players, including tenants and investors. I believe, however, that despite a volatile macroeconomic environment, well-designed and excellently located high quality projects will continue to find tenants and buyers. I am also confident that the proportion of certified green office buildings will surge – it’s now only 5% in Poland - as they are the preferred choice for property investors. The market’s interest has shifted towards green investments not only because of vaguely-promised benefits, as it was initially, but mainly because of the increasingly-evident benefits such as value for money and long-term quality. For example our Green Towers office in Wrocław and Nordea House and Green Corner in Warsaw were leased and sold in no time, even before construction was completed.

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a very advanced stage of construction. On the other hand, demand for new apartments in the Polish capital in the first quarter of this year was still better than many developers had expected, said Jarosław Szanajca, Management Board President at Dom Development. He added that despite the expiry at the end of last year of the popular Family on its Own (Rodzina na Swoim) subsidized mortgages programme for first-home

Right: Jerzy Buzek, next to Richard Stephens, publisher of Poland Today, signing a copy of the magazine which features him on the front cover.

Below: Tomasz Zaboklicki, CEO of PESA speaking on the transport panel.

buyers, demand was sustained by an the programme and that his company increased number of people financing is not basing its market forecasts on it. home purchases with cash, rather than He added that the very announcement bank loans. A new subsidized mort- of the scheme helped stifle demand as gages programme is expected to be many potential buyers postpone their introduced by the Polish government decisions till next year. some time next year. However, not all of its details are known yet and it is still Creating a riverside difficult to say what its ultimate effect Warsaw can be proud of on the market will be. Mr Szanajca The Powiśle neighbourhood of Poland’s said that he remains skeptical about capital has major development potential and deserves to have its Vistula riverside revitalized and urbanized, concluded participants of the last panel. The discussion focused on how Warsaw could make better use of its undeveloped riverside, with the architects pointing to Powiśle as an area where new buildings would be particularly welcome. The neighbourhood, which in the 19th century was mostly associated with industry and poverty, is today regarded as prestigious and could house new res-

Left: Piotr Krawczyński of Kulczyk Silverstein Properties participated in the commercial real estate panel.

Left: Olga Grygier-

Siddons, PwC Poland

Below: Waldemar

Olbryk, Skanska Property Poland

The conference gathered high level representatives of foreign embassies and chambers of commerce.

idential and commercial developments. next to the Vistula River. The vision Powiśle is located close to the down- was commended by Ewa Kuryłowicz town of Warsaw and already features of the APA Kuryłowicz & Associates good public transport infrastructure, architectural studio, who said that the noted Andrzej Chołdzyński, architect land on top of the road tunnel that runs and urban planner at the AMC archi- along the river bank in Powiśle should tectural studio. Additionally, the area is be developed if technically possible. expected to benefit from the opening Meanwhile, the city is already revitalizof the central stretch of the second sub- ing a riverside boulevard in the neighway line in the upcoming years. One of bourhood, with construction scheduled the stations for that line will be located for completion in mid-2015, said Michał in the neighbourhood. Olszewski, Vice Mayor of the capital. Hochtief Development Poland is Several other Warsaw neighbourhoods already planning a major mixed-use located along the Vistula River have complex called Copernicus Square in a chance of getting a facelift in the near Powiśle which will involve the revitali- future, stated Olgierd Jagiełło of JEMS zation of a former power plant and will Architekci, saying that his company deliver a total of more than 42,000 is now involved in work on planned sqm of usable space. More is certainly developments in the Port Praski area. to come. Tomasz Karpiński and Mateusz The panel clearly demonstrated the Wójcicki of 4AM Architectural studio huge potential of the riverside, showpresented a vision which calls for the casing some of the ideas and developdevelopment of land located directly ments underway. by Adam Zdrodowski

How do prospects look in your sector over the next two or three years?

Paweł Dębowski, Dentons: It depends on the economy. My sec-

tor is fueled by tenants so it depends on business expansion or the establishment of new businesses. If we play musical chairs relocating tenants the market will not improve on the leasing side. But I think that there is still demand and when I look at my clients and other market participants I see activity. The differentiation that I just mentioned allows investors to purchase high quality properties in secondary cities and Warsaw non-CBD at attractive - in comparison to Western Europe - prices. Retail will remain everybody’s darling. There is the demand for retail product and it will continue. Poles will continue to earn more and move in the cities, meaning the cities will grow and with it demand. I believe Warsaw will continue to develop towards Wola and the North-West.

Olga Drela, DTZ: Shopping centres with established market posi-

tions which have for many years profited from a well-chosen location and clients’ loyalty for many years have had to cope with new modern projects. Consumer habits and shopping trends are changing. Retailers are constantly adjusting to these developing needs and reality, needing to innovate in order to maintain competitiveness.

Leszek Sikora, ECE: The situation I described above offers a chance

for developers concentrating on top locations in the strongest cities, although chances are limited. We see demand for good projects even in their early stages of development. Existing assets are getting old and their owners are looking for ways to increase their value by sometimes major re-builds and other optimization efforts. We want ECE in Poland to look much closer into those opportunities in the near future. Marked prospects depend, however, on the overall economic situation: the threat of recession which has replaced the fear of a eurozone collapse throws a shadow over my generally optimistic approach.

Tomasz Trzósło, JLL: Notwithstanding (the difficulties), there are

going to be interesting opportunities in all sectors and I expect some developers to be very successful in the next few years. This will however be subject to taking higher risk, and it will only be possible for those who are equity-rich and therefore able to develop without being dependent on debt. The market will be there for them.

photos: Piotr Dziubak, Konrad Konstantynowicz

Piotr Krawczyński, Kulczyk Silverstein Properties: KSP is generally optimistic for the Polish real estate market. 76% of the total value of transactions carried out on the property market in the CEE region in 2012 were done in Poland. For the last two years approximately €2.5 bn has been invested in Poland and analysts predict that 2013 will be the same. As Poland continues to outpace its Western European counterparts in domestic growth, new investors and tenants will want to expand into Poland to take advantage of the country’s strong national demand and global trading relationships. GDP is expected to grow at over 3% in 2014, which will present opportunities not available in France, Italy or Germany. Bogdan Rogala, Philips Lighting Poland:

The need for indoor and outdoor lighting is continuously increasing. Lighting consumes approximately 20% of electricity globally. This poses a major challenge, in a world facing resource scarcity and climate change. Energy-efficient lighting can help. For example, a full switch-over to the latest LED lighting would provide very significant energy savings. This equates to approximately €130 bln per year in reduced running costs – or the equivalent of 640 medium sized power plants! Energy efficient lighting solutions are, and will be, a major focus for many years ahead. This also fits in with the goals of available EU Structural Funds.

Olga Grygier-Siddons, PwC: Several domestic economic policies will help Poland outperform Western Europe this year and in the years ahead: Poland has reasonably good economic fundamentals. Public debt is relatively low, at 55.6% of GDP in 2012, in contrast to the eurozone average of over 90%. The central bank continues to cut interest rates and there is still room for further cuts. Economic growth is expected to accelerate in 2014 and 2015. Forecasted GDP for 2015 is 3%. 45% of Polish CEO’s are very confident about growth in the revenues of their businesses over the next 3 years. The total percentage of moderate and absolute optimists on a 3 year horizon stands at 89%, according to PwC’s CEO Survey 2013. Right: Tomasz Trzósło from Jones Lang LaSalle Far right:

Lars Christensen of Danske Bank presented Poland's economic situation as keynote speaker.

Waldemar Olbryk, Skanska Property Poland: The fact that we keep expanding our project portfolio into new regional markets proves that we strongly believe in the Polish market’s prospects. There has been a spectacular growth in the BPO/SSC sector and there is no doubt that Poland is becoming a leading location for knowledgebased processes. We have analyzed the specific needs of outsourcing companies in terms of office space requirements and signed several large contracts with tenants from this sector.

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Primetime Warsaw conference

District mayors touting new locations The mayors and vice mayors of six of the largest districts in Warsaw discussed new investment opportunities in the office and residential property sectors during the Primetime Warsaw District Mayors Workshop organized by Poland Today.

The Distirict Mayors Workshop

provided an opportunity for the real estate community to discuss important issues.

Above: Richard

Stephens, Poland Today's publisher, Mirosław Bednarek, Matexi Polska, Paweł Sztejter, Reas (from left to right)

Above:

Paweł Sztejter, Reas, Adam Grzegrzółka, mayor of Białołęka, Bohdan Szułczyński, vicemayor of Bemowo and Piotr Guział, mayor of Ursynów (from left to right) discussing residential market prospects.

The workshop focused on

future locations for new real estate projects, as well as on how new infrastructural investments are influencing the local property markets. The commercial property part of the workshop concerned the districts of Sródmieście, Mokotów and Wola which currently have the largest stocks of office space and in which there will be many new deliveries in the upcoming years.

According to Tomasz Czuba, Head of Office Leasing at Jones Lang LaSalle Poland, there is approximately 1.3 m sqm of existing office space in the central business district of Warsaw, of which only 13% is less than five years old. It is difficult to secure land for largescale office developments in downtown Warsaw, admitted the Mayor of Śródmieście, Wojciech Bartelski, but he added that two very attractive

plots in the district could appear in the market in the near future. He revealed that new schemes will probably be developed on the site of an existing school on ul. Twarda, as well as on a nearby plot which now houses a district office. Mr Bartelski also stressed that investors are welcome to revitalize existing historical buildings. Mokotów and Wola now respectively have more than 1 m sqm and

Right: Katarzyna Łęgiewicz, vice mayor of Wola, talking about the commercial property market from her district's perspective.

What key issue in your sector is having a big effect on the market?

Paweł Dębowski, Dentons: Financing. We are still waiting for more

development financing. It would help the market. But I also believe that alternative forms of financing will surface in the near future.

Olga Drela, DTZ: To maintain a shopping centre’s footfall and

turnover levels, and therefore its value, property owners have to take action. Growing competition posed by e-commerce is also a factor. Mature shopping centres are starting to appreciate asset management services and are seeing the need for the modernization, refurbishment and sometimes re-development of their centre.

Lezek Sikora, ECE Projektmanagement: There are several crucial issues but the one I feel distorts the market is the on-going lack of clarity concerning planning right interpretations. Can you get your scheme permitted based on a WZ ("warunki zabudowy," translation “planning decision”), or is a master plan a must? The query seems easy but until the law is explicit about it there will be various interpretations and competition between players will not be fair. Tomasz Trzósło, Jones Lang LaSalle: For the real estate market

it is very easy to identify the one big influencing factor: the European and global recession. Poland is certainly a market that continues and will continue to develop at a faster pace than Western Europe, and one that will require a substantial amount of real estate product in all sectors, but the overall European picture has a significant impact. With slowing consumption both in and outside Europe, the Polish market faces lower production input, which translates into lower demand for real estate. Lower spending power means not only a slowdown in retail development, but also in residential demand. The issues faced by the banking sector and the lowering values of real estate also add to the slowdown. However, it is clear that the overall demand for real estate in Poland, and other countries in the CEE, will continue to be higher than in Western Europe, and will continue to create the potential for future development, albeit at a slower pace. Basically, whereas fewer developments are feasible in the next few years, overall market potential and development perspectives remain good.

photos: Piotr Dziubak

Above: Tomasz

Andryszczyk from Primo Corporate Advisory, Katarzyna Łęgiewicz, vice mayor of Wola, Wojciech Bartelski, mayor of Śródmieście and Bogdan Olesiński, mayor of Mokotów (from left to right)

over 650,000 sqm of office space, said Katarzyna Lipka, a consultant at DTZ. She added that there are plans to build a further 600,000-700,000 sqm of office space in Mokotów, while in Wola the figure is even higher, at 800,000 sqm. Katarzyna Łęgiewicz, Vice Mayor of Wola, noted that Warsaw's downtown is now expanding westwards into her district and stressed that the trend is set to continue due to the abundance of post-industrial areas and well-developed transport infrastructure in Wola. For his part, Bogdan Olesiński, the Mayor of Mokotów, said that a new major office hub should in the future emerge in the area of ul. Sobieskiego and Al. Sikorskiego. Currently the bulk of office projects in the district are being developed in Służewiec. The residential part of the workshop focused on the prospects of Białołęka, Bemowo and Ursynów, each of which

has seen the development of a large number of housing projects in recent years. According to data presented by Paweł Sztejter, Partner at Reas consultancy, Białołęka and Bemowo currently account for respectively 13% and 6% of all apartments on sale in the Warsaw market. Both districts are expected to continue to see the development of new residential projects in the upcoming years. Bohdan Szułczyński, Vice Mayor of Bemowo, pointed to the huge potential of the Chrzanów neighbourhood which will in the future be accessible by subway. Adam Grzegrzółka, Mayor of Białołęka, noted that his district has benefited from the recent delivery of a new bridge over the Vistula River and stressed that locations including the Piekiełko neighbourhood are still waiting to be discovered by developers. Ursynów was not long ago a big construction site but today it actually accounts for only 1% of all new apartments for sale in Warsaw, according to Reas. This could change soon as developers focus on new locations there. Piotr Guział, the loquacious Mayor of Ursynów, pointed out that the area of ul. Kłobucka, for one, is increasingly popular with residential developers. He also revealed that new plots of land on ul. Ciszewskiego will be made available for residential development.

by Adam Zdrodowski

Piotr Krawczyński, Kulczyk Silverstein Properties: Under current conditions only strong companies with existing relationships are the investors who will prove successful in the capital markets. The availability of financing is not as robust generally in Europe as it was five years ago. Lenders are seeking tighter covenants and higher margins to originate debt than in the past. Bogdan Rogala, Philips Lighting Poland: Over half the global population currently lives in urban areas, a figure that is expected to rise to over 70% by 2050. This amounts to over three billion extra city dwellers, mostly in emerging economies, and cities will face tough challenges to ensure that they remain safe, environmentally-sound, attractive and supportive of vibrant communities. This trend is more or less the same in Poland, so lighting is and will remain a growth area in Poland and CEE. Olga Grygier-Siddons, PwC: The advisory and consulting market mirrors the overall shape of the economy. Hence, it is not a surprise that weakening economic growth resulted in a decrease in the number and value of assignments. It resulted in declines in employment in consulting firms, as well as the withdrawal of some advisers from the Polish market. Merger and acquisition activity exceeding €100 million is particularly low. One of the key issues in the audit sector is the European Commission’s requirements regarding statutory audits of public interest entities (PIEs). Many of our clients are facing additional regulatory pressures and this presents auditors with additional reporting expectations. Waldemar Olbryk, President of Skanska Property Poland:

We still need to work hard to increase the market’s awareness of sustainable development and the benefits it brings to tenants. The trend towards ‘green’ is of course becoming stronger every day, and it might be said that this is only a matter of time, but there are still some misconceptions, for instance concerning the costs of LEED certification. For example hardly anyone knows that employee efficiency is 4% higher in green office buildings and the sick leave rate is reduced by an average of three days per employee per annum, which has been confirmed by research in the USA. This information is still something new in Poland.

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Notable quotes Experts had plenty to say about Warsaw and its development at Poland Today’s Primetime Warsaw II conference in April

Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz (right),

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Mayor of Warsaw: “Cities are not egotistical, they create jobs. … Let’s not be afraid of cities because all of us stand to benefit from them.”

Jacek Wojciechowicz (above),

Deputy Mayor of Warsaw: “Transportation is the bloodstream of every city and it must constantly be upgraded and extended so that people can commute easily.”

Elżbieta Bieńkowska (below), Minister of Infrastructure & Development: “Previously the EU didn’t pay much attention to city development. But we have we have a lot of experience. What we have done in terms of regional development strategies and city development is now also visible in EU documents. And now there are instruments being created that cities will be able to use.”

Jeroen van der Toolen (right),

managing director for the CEE region, Ghelamco : “Warsaw has developed itself economically but now needs to look toward quality of life in the city, including building a good public transportation system.

photos: Piotr Dziubak, Arkadiusz Chłopik

Sven Bienert (left), University of Regensburg: “Sustainable building and certified building are not the same thing. You could build a building in the middle of the desert with green certification, but I’ll leave it up to you to decide if that building would actually be sustainable.” Andrzej Chołdzyński (left), chief

architect and founder of AMC Architects: “A good subway system is fundamental for building a European model of transport.”

Arkadisuz Jamski (below left), financial director of Poland Today, with Maciej Raczyński of RPS Legal, Poland Today’s legal advisor.

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Dr Andrzej Brzeziński (left),

Warsaw University of Technology: “Recent years have brought a lot of changes to improve Warsaw’s public transportation. I would say Warsaw is the leader in terms of public transport in Poland.”

Rafał Mazurczak (left), office and

hotel projects department director at Echo Investment: “I believe that mixeduse projects are the way of the future. ... It’s all about building spaces that live during and after office hours.”

Jarosław Zagórski (below),

photos: Piotr Dziubak, Arkadiusz Chłopik

commercial & business development director, Ghelamco: “I would like to see more variety in Warsaw shopping malls. No matter where I go I seem to encounter the very same brands.”

Jarosław Bator (below), manag-

Piotr Goździewicz (left), director of

ing director for real estate, PKP: “Changing our country also depends on changing working conditions in the country.”

capital markets CEE, BNP Paribas Real Estate: “The shopping centre penetration rate in Warsaw is among the lowest in the country even though the city boasts the highest income per capita.”

Leszek Sikora (above),

managing director, ECE Projektmanagement Polska: “It has been a long time since a new large-scale shopping centre was last developed in Warsaw.”

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Partners of Primetime Warsaw III

Above: Krzysztof Fijałkowski,

development manager, ECE Projektmanagement

included: ABSL, Amstar, BBI Development, ECE Projektmanagement, EY, fDi Magazine, ITKeyple, Koneser Centrum Praskie, MIPIM, the National Stadium in Warsaw, Nowa Warszawa and Skanska Property Poland.

Below: Tomasz Andryszczyk, part-

ner, Primo Corporate Advisory

Left: Paweł Panczyj, managing

Below: Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, mayor of Warsaw

photos: Piotr Dziubak

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director, ABSL

Right: Richard Stephens, editor in chief, Poland Today

Below: Courtney Fingar, editor-in-

chief, fDi Magazine, Financial Times Group

Above: Małgorzata Dybaś, managing director, Hotels Asset Management

Left: Michał Olszewski, deputy mayor of Warsaw

Above: Arkadiusz Rudzki, leasing & asset management director, Skanska Property Poland

Left: Anna Kicińska, Partner and

Leader for the CSE Region, EY Real Estate Advisory Group

Left: Andrzej Wilk,

senior vice president, Global Business Center, MoneyGram Payment Systems Poland

urban issues

Below: Jan Krzysztof Bielecki,

chairman of the board of partners, EY Poland, former prime minister

Partners of Primetime Warsaw III

Left: RafaĹ&#x201A; Rosiejak, head of confer-

ence centre & MICE, National Stadium

photos: Piotr Dziubak

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included: ABSL, Amstar, BBI Development, ECE Projektmanagement, EY, fDi Magazine, ITKeyple, Koneser Centrum Praskie, MIPIM, the National Stadium in Warsaw, Nowa Warszawa and Skanska Property Poland.

Left: Krzysztof Wilczek, regional director of region north at Skanska Property Poland

Above: Karol Półtorak, vice

president, Warsaw Stock Exchange

Left: Jakub Sylwestrowicz,

head of tenant representation, JLL

Above: Rafał Szczepański,

vice president of the management board, BBI Development

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Top right: Richard Stephens, Founder & Editor, Poland Today, opening the Primetime Poland conference in London.

Below: Marek

Matraszek, Founder and Chairman of CEC Government Relations.

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Primetime Poland in London

At a recent conference in London, British and Polish business leaders shared their insights on what will happen in the months and years to come in Poland, with special attention paid to politics. Marek Matraszek, CEO of CEC Government Relations, kicked off with a political overview, with Katya Kocourek of Stroz Friedberg and Marek Rozkrut from EY, focusing on Poland’s economic future following the 2015 parliamentary elections. Moderated by Andrew Wrobel of Emerging Europe, the first panel discussed Poland’s changing economic situation, and in particular the country’s knack for entrepreneurship. Former Polish Prime Minister Jan Krzysztof Bielecki, Mark Gaskell of Equity & Grant and Martin Oxley, CEE strategy advisor at UKTI all agreed that Polish innovation and entrepreneurship is a vital factor for Above: Mark Gaskell, Founder and ManagPoland’s economic growth. Polish real estate was the focus for the ing Director of Eq& Grant; Robert second panel, and the mood was pos- uity Nowakowski, Direcitive. Moderated by Richard Betts tor of International from Property EU, the panel included Markets, Elżanowski Adrian Karczewicz, transaction direc- Cherka & Wąsowski tor at Skanska Commercial Development Law Firm and Martin Oxley Strategy Europe, Maciej Król, CEO of Xcity Adviser UKTI, CEE Investment, Charles Weston Baker of Savills and Anna Kicińska, Partner at EY. During the discussion, Ms. Kicińska suggested that the hotel sector would be strong in 2016 due to high occupancy rates and, according to Mr. Baker, Poland will replace Berlin in international residential investment because of a large demand for housing stock in Poland. by Liam Frahm

photos: Gosia Skibińska

Above Jan Krzysztof Bielecki, Chairman of

the Board of Partners at EY Poland and former Prime Minister, with Dr Katya Kocourek, Lead Analyst for Central and Eastern Europe at Stroz Friedberg.

Left: Anna

Kicińska MRICS, EY Real Estate Advisory Group discussing real estate investments in Poland.

Above: Jan Krzysz-

tof Bielecki, Chairman of the Board of Partners, EY Poland and Marek Rozkrut, Partner at EY

Left: (r-l) Richard

Betts, Publisher, PropertyEU talking to Maciej K. Król, CEO, Xcity Investment and Adrian Karczewicz, Skanska Commercial Development Europe

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Putting all the right pieces together

photos: Piotr Dziubak

Wrocław is one of Poland’s most business-friendly cities, but it needs to continue to foster connections between idea formers, businesses and academia to stay ahead

Bright light: The

Primetime Wrocław conference tookplace in mid-January, when Christmas decorations still lit the city centre (above). After the conference, attendees enjoyed evening cocktails at Brasserie 27, an elegant restaurant situated in the Europeum Hotel – in the heart of Wrocław.

Is Wrocław Poland’s entrepreneurial cap- reliance on the BPO sector were hot topital? Is it innovative? And what should ics at the conference. “While BPO is well it do to focus on sustainability? These developed, it’s just one part of the picwere the questions on the minds of city ture,” said Karol Patynowski, an associate authorities and business leaders at Poland director at JLL Poland. Today’s Primetime Wrocław conference, held in January in the Old Town Hall During a panel discussion led by in the city’s centre. Krzysztof Sachs, partner at EY, there was lively debate as to whether city authoriWrocław City Council Chairman Jacek ties were really concentrating on improvOssowski offered a robust defence of ing the business environment. Joanna the city in a “fireside chat” with The Bensz, head of the American Chamber of Economist’s Poland correspondent and Commerce’s operations in the city, as well frequent contributor to Poland Today, Jan as Radek Kokot, head of advertising operCienski. Ossowski focused on Wrocław’s ations for Central and Eastern Europe at educational assets, as a city that produces Google, praised the city’s progress so far, highly valuable graduates and – crucially – but agreed that more could be done. keeps and employs these graduates within the local economy. Wrocław boasts a number of wellregarded universities, but how can busi“The city has the asset of educating peo- nesses best utilise the brainpower at ple in the sectors that will likely pay well hand? Patrycja Radek, from Wrocławand are in demand by both the Polish and based R&D centre EIT+, offered a blueprint of how universities can fruitfully global economy,” he said. engage with the business community. The picture though, is not all rosy. Fears “We brought in world-class professors of labour flight, a lack of communica- and developed research labs. We call EIT+ tion between Wrocław’s universities and a space for innovation – it’s open to anyits business community and the city’s one with an idea,” she said.

Wrocław is located in south-western Poland, near the German and Czech borders. It is the capital of the Lower Silesian (Dolnośląskie) voivodship. The city has earned a reputation as one of the country's most business friendly investment locations. the Primetime Wrocław conference examined whether this was indeed the case, and what authorities could do to improve the business environment further.

41 Jacek Ossowski,

Chairman of the Wrocław City Council, answered questions from Jan Cienski (with microphone) of The Economist, in the conference’s opening ‘fireside chat’.

Dariusz Ostrowski (left), president

of the Wrocław Agglomeration Development Agency, pointed out all of the advantages the city has to offer, and presented attendees with key facts and figures for potential investors.

biggest problem, he said, was not coming up with ideas or finding demand for his WroCłaW breakfast product – a wheelchair that can be con- in WarsaW trolled by its user’s thoughts – but in findToday held a warm-up event for ing the business know-how to help him Poland Primetime Wrocław with a breakfast in develop his enterprise. Warsaw in October. Participants discussed Nicolas Lepage, the senior trade commissioner at the Embassy of Canada in Poland, said that authorities and the entrepreKrzysztof Karolczyk, a plant develop- neurial community simply needed to fosment manager at Fortum Power and Heat ter connections between idea-formers Polska, is also at the forefront of capital- and business mentors. Bringing them ising on the city’s top-notch educational together, he argued, would unleash institutions. His company has initiated the city’s potential. “We live in a gloa programme where students can work at balised world, and we’re part of a sharing the firm helping to develop cutting-edge generation,” Lepage said. technology. “We want to combine the academic world with the world of business in As the conference came to an end, the order to develop innovation,” he said. themes were clear: the city needs to continue to think big and eschew complaOne of the highlights was a discussion cency. “At the end of the day, Wrocław is with Patryk Arłamowski, a young entre- an innovative city,” said Marek Ulanecki, preneur with an infectious enthusi- a leasing manager at Vastint Real Estate. asm for building innovative businesses. Before turning 25, Arłamowski had pat- Drive, passion and intellectual capabilented more than 20 products, one of ity are clearly present in Wrocław, what which was named Polish Invention of remains is for the city to bring it all the Year in 2014 by Telewizja Polska. His together. by Gabriel Rom

the city’s rise to become a model of economic success and the challenges that remain. The conference featured two speakers, Dariusz Ostrowski, president of the Wrocław Agglomeration Development Agency (ARAW), and Jarosław Prawicki, head of sales and marketing at UBM Group Poland. It was attended by an audience of Polish and international business leaders. Ostrowski discussed Wrocław’s successes and challenges as a city administrator, while Prawicki offered a view from the private sector. Initially a locus for call centres and simple business-process outsourcing, Wrocław is now home to a burgeoning high-tech sector, featuring international behemoths like Siemens, HP, and IBM, the speakers pointed out. Thanks to an open and active local government hospitable to investment, the city’s economy is booming. Close to Prague and Berlin, the city is a natural meeting place for firms looking to do regional business. “Geography is a determining factor,” said Ostrowski.

The Great Hall

(above), in Wrocław’s historic Old Town Hall, was the venue for the Primetime Wrocław conference.

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Kraków getting in the innovation game How should Poland’s second city tackle the challenges it faces as a rapidly developing knowledge-based economy?

Kraków is booming – a tidal wave of business services investments over the past 10 years has spurred the local economy, bringing in over 30,000 new jobs. The unemployment rate in the city is just 5.3%, according to GUS, Poland’s statistical office, while the country’s national average is 11.2%. Nevertheless, the city faces plenty of challenges ahead. An increasing number of cities around Poland are jumping on the business services bandwagon. Kraków is finding itself not only competing with them, but also with other cities in Europe and even around the world. As low labourcost Asian cities rise up the ranks of BPO investment attractiveness, Kraków is seeing its wages inflate, making it less competitive. Moreover, its former industrial district, Nowa Huta, still lies disused, without any significant investment. There are competing visions for how the authorities should address the issue. The city might be able to find some solutions in its fast-growing IT sector. Such was one conclusion of the discussions at Poland Today’s conference Spotlight on Kraków & Małopolska – ‘The Brain Gain’, held in late March.

Participation focused: Poland

Today’s Spotlight on Kraków & Małopolska – ‘The Brain Gain’ conference ensured audience participation with open forum discussions (right) instead of closed panels, and a future forecasting session led by foresight firm 4CF (below). The results of the forecasting session can be found at poland-today.pl/ events.

The conference opened with a future forecasting session led by foresight firm 4CF. During this session, participants broke up into groups and attempted to predict both probable and desirable futures for the Nowa Huta district in 10 years’ time. Both futures that the participants envisioned included improvement on the current situation, while the desirable scenario included a much younger population, an influx of middle class residents and high-tech businesses, with a thriving cultural scene.

photos: Oskar Boral

The chief differentiator between the two scenarios was a clear strategy from the local government, which included well thought-out zoning plans and heavy investment in infrastructure. The session came to the conclusion that to avoid a scenario where such plans go awry, the government would have to be smart about its incentives, make sure the tenders for infrastructure investments were not to bureaucracy-laden and that the arrival of middle class inhabitants didn’t lead to the exclusion of less wealthy residents. ‘Create the growth yourself’ The afternoon session included two open forums, one on real estate and one on innovation. The real estate session focused on the impact the business services boom has had on the office sector, where the vacancy rate currently stands at 3.6%. While some developers on the panel said they thought such conditions could hold

up for three or four years, experts from the advisories said that was too optimistic. Instead, they said that with office development in the city moving ahead rapidly, vacancy rates were set to remain low for only two or three more years, at most. Quickly, however, the discussion turned from real estate to how the city could sustain its economic growth in general. Participants agreed that the city could not depend on a single industry – business services – to create its growth indefinitely. “Depending on outsourcing is a bit like depending on Russian gas,” said John Banka, a partner in the development advisory services business at Colliers. “Sooner or later it’s going to run out. The city has to be in the innovation game. You have to create the growth yourself.” This discussion continued during the second open forum, during which participants were joined by Małopolskie Voivode Jerzy Miller. Miller spoke at length about his vision for the region, and answered questions from the audience regarding his strategy for encouraging innovation in the city and voivodship. He said he favoured using public funds to create infrastructure that could be used by firms to innovate, rather than subsidising innovation itself. Explaining that market forces would determine the direction innovation in the region takes, he said, “I think we should follow the rule that the customer is always right – also in innovation.” by Andrew Kureth

Rafał Kulczycki (above left),

director of Kraków’s development department, answers a question during one of the forum discussions.

Małopolskie Voivode Jerzy Miller and Poland

Today editor in chief Richard Stephens (below) pose for a photo together at the conference.

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Warsaw in focus at MIPIM Experts expect a BPO boom to come to Warsaw – but can the city capitalise on it?

Poland Today hosted a conference at the MIPIM real estate fair in Cannes, France in March that included a networking lunch and two panel discussions. Warsaw took centre stage in the conversations: hot topics included the business services sector, international promotion and urban planning.

Business services is driving office demand in Poland, but until recently the phenomenon had mostly been limited to the country’s regional cities. However, within the next five years Warsaw is set to emerge as a major BPO hub, said experts at Poland Today’s Primetime Poland conference at the MIPIM real estate fair in Cannes, France. As a result, the city’s oversized vacancy rate – currently at 13.3% – will likely drop to levels that will make developers more comfortable.

Can the capital capitalise? The question is whether the city of Warsaw can make the most of it. On a panel discussion at the Primetime Poland conference that focused on Warsaw, Deputy Mayor Michał Olszewski had to go slightly on the defensive when it came to two aspects: city promotion and urban planning. While most of the panelists agreed that Warsaw had gone a long way to promote itself internationally, Olszewski agreed that more still needs to be done, saying: “Promotion of Warsaw is a long-term job.”

“In five years, Warsaw will be the leader when it comes to complex services, with support from regional cities,” said Paweł Jeroen van der Toolen, managing director Panczyj, managing director of ABSL, for CEE at Ghelamco, said the city needed a business services advocacy group. a comprehensive master plan for urban Throughout the country, he expects the space planning, complaining Warsaw was industry to grow at a rate of about 20% allowing a hotchpotch of architectural annually over the next five years, he said. styles in sections of the city. In off-theThis prompted Martin Erbe, managing record conversations after the conference, director at Helaba, a bank that invests in another Warsaw-based real estate profesreal estate in the region, to ask whether sional echoed these comments, saying rental levels – which have been under Warsaw was allowing “crappy” buildings pressure in Warsaw – would be the big- to go up in some of the most prestigious gest factor in attracting companies to the locations in the city. Speaking on condicity. Panczyj answered that it was more tion of anonymity because he feared it the availability of educated workers able would affect his firm’s ability to receive regulatory approval for buildings in cities to do more knowledge-intensive work. in the future, the professional said that the Wojciech Popławski, director at Accenture officials in Warsaw who dole out building Operations Poland, which has service cen- permits are too old and bureaucratic, with tres in both Warsaw and Kraków, agreed. “no modern vision”. “The services needed will be more complex, and Warsaw can be a home for com- Nevertheless, the potential is there. panies that haven’t yet come to Poland, Katarzyna Zawodna, managing direcor who need more than what the other tor at Skanska Property Poland, said she cities can offer,” he said. In a discussion had “no doubt” that Warsaw was the after the conference Stanislav Frnka and region’s clear leader in terms of investGrzegorz Strutyński, HB Reavis’ coun- ment attractiveness. Richard Stephens (above middle), try manager and commercial director for Poland respectively, said that tenants of Jason Lucas, managing director at Amstar, editor in chief of Poland Today, led a their buildings had told them that while which recently partnered with BBI to buy panel at MIPIM that other Polish cities also offer workers who the Złota 44 residential tower in the cen- focused on Warsaw. can perform such tasks, the Warsaw mar- tre of Warsaw, agreed, saying the city was ket is “deeper” – there are simply more of a very business-friendly location. “For us them in the capital, making it more attrac- it was a very obvious investment,” he said. by Andrew Kureth tive to investors.

photos: courtesy of MIPIM

Primetime Poland:

Jason Lucas (directly above),

managing director at Amstar, which recently partnered with BBI to buy the Złota 44 residential tower in the centre of Warsaw.

Michał Olszewski (above), deputy mayor of Warsaw, agreed with other panelists that more still needs to be done to promote Warsaw internationally. “Promotion of Warsaw is a long-term job,” he said.

Martin Erbe,

managing director at Helaba, wondered whether Warsaw’s under-pressure rental levels would be the biggest factor in attracting business services firms to Warsaw.

Robert Dobrzycki (above), managing

partner for Europe at Panattoni, talked up the potential of eastern Poland for logistics investments.

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Poland Today at MIPIM 2016 The world's leading real estate fair | 15-16 March 2016 | Palais des Festivals | Cannes, France

Poland Today is playing

Richard Stephens

founder & editor, Poland Today

a leading role at MIPIM 2016 as organizer of the Poland & CEE Days. Our sessions cover a broad range of key topics, from the macro-economic and political perspective for Poland to city development across the CEE, also taking in the importance of standards and the opinions of the major developers on the Warsaw real estate scene about the CEE region. We are delighted with the participation of Mateusz Morawiecki, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Development in the new Polish government, who is interviewed by Henry Foy of the Financial Times, and with the Mayor of Warsaw, Mrs Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, who is talking about the challenges and opportunities facing Poland’s capital city.

tuesday 15th March 20.00 – 22.00

Poland & CEE Executive Dinner High level social and networking event for business leaders Host: Richard Stephens, Founder & Editor, Poland Today

Short welcome addresses by: rs Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, M Mayor of Warsaw Grzegorz Hajdarowicz, Owner of Gremi Media (owner of Rzeczpospolita, Poland's leading financial daily newspaper, partner of Poland Today) Jeroen van der Toolen, Managing Director CEE, Ghelamco

wednesday 16th March 09:15 - 10:45

Ghelamco is Main Partner of the Poland & CEE Days,

Urban Issues MIPIM 2016

on the occasion of their 25th anniversary in Poland.

Jacek Levernes,

President of ABSL: Economy-wise, Poland is one of the most interesting places in Europe – the scale of investments in the last few years is testament to that. At MIPIM I'm delighted to have an opportunity to outline the opinions of global players regarding the current challenges faced by the Polish economy in front of an international audience. The presence of Deputy Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who has mapped out a bold project for Poland's development, will undoubtedly make the discussion highly interesting.

Maarten Vermeulen, RICS, RICS Regional Managing Director in Europe, Russia and CIS:

In cooperation with other national and international organisations, RICS is developing global standards in five specific fields: ethics, property measurement, construction measurement, land measurement and valuation. At MIPIM we look forward to an open debate on this important topic with influential players from the region and encouraging them to get involved in the development and adoption of standards in order to improve city management and leverage finance for urban development.

our partners & patrons

CEE Breakfast Discussion Forum. How CEE markets can reduce risk and attract foreign investors to the region’s cities? Session co-organized with RICS aarten Vermeulen, M FRICS Regional Managing Director of RICS in Europe, Russia and CIS Remigius ŠIMAŠIUS, Mayor of Vilnius Róbert Ésik, President, HIPA - Hungarian Investment Promotion Noah M. Steinberg FRICS, Chairman & CEO, Wing ZRT Peter Szamely MRICS, Head of Team CEE and SEE at Hypo NOE Gruppe Bank AG Algirdas Vaitiekunas FRICS, Fund Manager at Northern Horizon Capital and Chair of RICS in the Baltics Professor Dr. Jorg Menzer, Head of Bucharest, Bratislava & Budapest Offices, NOERR Jean-Bernard Wurm, Managing Director, Secure Legal Title Moderator: Richard Stephens, Founder & Editor of Poland Today

11:00 - 12:30

Poland Today. How to understand the new investment environment Session co-organized with ABSL ateusz Morawiecki, M Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Development of the Republic of Poland Jacek Levernes, Entrepreneur in Residence at Oaktree Capital Management/Cornerstone Partners and President of ABSL Prof. Dr. Alexander Goepfert, Partner & Head of Real Estate Investments Europe, Noerr Moderator: Henry Foy, Poland & CE correspondent, Financial Times

12:45 - 14:15

Poland Movers & Shakers Lunch Discussion Forum. Taking the lead – investing in Polish cities Session co-organized with Property EU aweł Zelich, Local Partner, P Noerr Menzer, Member of Noerr Group Bartosz Puzdrowski, Board Member at ICON Real Estate in Poland and Finland Maciej K. Król, CEO, Xcity Investment John Banka, Colliers International and ULI Chair in Poland Adam Konieczny MRICS, Country Head Poland at Christie + Co Moderators: Richard Betts, Publisher, Property EU and Richard Stephens, Founder & Editor, Poland Today

14:30 - 16:00

From Warsaw to CEE with love. View from the region’s centre Session co-organized with Property EU and fDi Magazine anna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, H Mayor of Warsaw Jeroen van der Toolen, Managing Director CEE, Ghelamco Maciej K. Król, CEO, Xcity Investment Arkadiusz Rudzki, Managing Director, Skanska Poland Stanislav Frnka, Country CEO, HB Reavis Poland Piotr Gromniak, President of the Board, Echo Investment Moderators: Courtney Fingar, Editor, fDi Magazine (part of the FT group) and Richard Betts, Publisher, Property EU

Urban Issues

Left: Mateusz Morawiecki,

Left: Bartosz Puzdrowski,

Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Development of the Republic of Poland

Board Member at ICON Real Estate in Poland and Finland

Left: Henry Foy,

Right: Maarten Vermeulen, FRICS

ing Director CEE, Ghelamco

Property EU

dent of the Board, Echo Investment

Left: Alexander Goepfert, Partner &

Xcity Investment

Right: Richard Betts, Publisher,

Residence at Oaktree Capital Management/ Cornerstone Partners and President of ABSL

Below: Piotr Gromniak, Presi-

Regional Managing Director of RICS in Europe, Russia and CIS

Left: Maciej K. Krรณl, CEO,

fDi Magazine (part of the FT group)

Left: Jacek Levernes, Entrepreneur in

Poland & CE correspondent, Financial Times

Right: Jeroen van der Toolen, Manag-

Left: Courtney Fingar, Editor,

Head of Real Estate Investments Europe, Noerr

Right: Arkadiusz Rudzki, Managing

Director, Skanska Poland

Right: Stanislav Frnka, Country CEO,

HB Reavis Poland

Above: Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, Mayor of Warsaw

MipiM property fair

Poland Today in Cannes At MIPIM 2016 Poland Today secured the participation of Mateusz Morawiecki, Deputy Prime Minister of Poland and the country's Minister of Development, whose involvement made a big impact on the whole event. Mr. Morawiecki was the highest-level official from Poland ever to participate at MIPIM, which this year attracted approximately 23,500 participants, and the most senior figure from any country at MIPIM 2016. The panel in which he took part, part of Poland Today's two-day 'Poland & CEE Days' conference & networking initiative – which consisted of the Executive Dinner on Tuesday 15 March in the evening, and four panel sessions on Wednesday 16 March – was fully packed with attendees from around the world. The deputy Prime Minister assured the audience that Poland remained an excellent country in which to invest and do business, but was questioned closely about the government's policies and actions, not only by moderator Henry Foy of the Financial Times, but also by the audience, some of whom took the opportunity to express their concerns about the impact of the government's policies on international investor sentiment. Alexander Goepfert, partner and head of real estate investments Europe at law firm Noerr reminded the audience that Poland is a mature and stable market but cautioned that continued global investor interest in the country will depend significantly on the stability of the political system and the atmosphere created by the government.

Above: Richard

Stephens, founder and editor of Poland Today opening the 'Poland & CEE Executive Dinner'.

photos: Mipim

Real estate talked shop

Also packed was the real estate panel led by Mrs. Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, the Mayor of Warsaw, and featuring five of the biggest developers operating in Warsaw: Echo Investment, Ghelamco, HB Reavis, Skanska and Xcity Investment. The heads of these companies were persuasive in calming concerns from some quarters that there is too much office development activity in the market, pointing out that Poland’s capital city still has a lot of catching up to do when compared to other cities of a similar size and status in Europe. The tone of the panel was optimistic about the leasing prospects of new upcoming office developments, judging by the success of Echo Investment’s Q22, Ghelamco’s Warsaw Spire, HB Reavis’s several recent projects in the capital and Skanska’s landmark schemes in major cities around Poland. Special thanks also go to our partners for the CEE Breakfast panel, RICS, and for the Poland Lunch panel, PropertyEU.

Above: The RICS

panel led by Maarten Vermeulen (far right).

Left: Stanislav Frnka, CEO of HB Reavis Poland and Arkadiusz Rudzki, MD of Skanska Property Poland.

55 Left: approximately 23,500 participants attended MIPIM 2016 in Cannes. The Polish representation was, as usual, strong.

Below: Deputy Prime

Minister and Minister of Development Mateusz Morawiecki (right) is greeted by the CEO of Reed Midem, Paul Zilk.

Above: Mateusz

Morawiecki addressing the international audience at Poland Today's 'Poland & CEE Day'.

Right: Maciej Król of Xcity Investment.

Left: Jeroen van der Toolen, MD CEE of Ghelamco. Below: (l-r) Henry

Foy, Financial Times; Mateusz Morawiecki; Katarzyna GruszeckaSpychała, deputy Mayor of Gdynia; Jacek Levernes, president of ABSL; Prof. Dr. Alexander Goepfert, Partner and Head of Real Estate Investments Europe, Noerr law firm.

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MipiM 2017 real estate fair

The cutting-edge: Poland Today in Cannes For the third year in a row, Poland Today organised the Poland & CEE content at MIPIM, the world’s most important real estate event. Spread over two days, our programme in Cannes kicked off with a short film produced by Poland Today showing the country’s leading projects of the future. The first day asked the question, ‘Is this Poland’s golden age of development?’ and featured a panel of leading developers hosted by Richard Betts, publisher of PropertyEU. The youth and vitality of those leading the new generation of projects, whose vision is shaping Poland’s cities of the future, was clear to see.

Below, Stanislav Frnka, CEO Poland

of HB Reavis, talked about their Varso Place office tower, under construction in the centre of Warsaw.

Stanislav Frnka, H B Reavis CEO Poland, told how Warsaw city planners were bowled over by plans for Varso Place, the 140,000 sqm office tower grounded designed by world-renowned archi- For the third ear in a row, tects Foster + Partners and local firm Poland Today organised Hermanowicz Rewski Architekci. Meanwhile, Echo Polska Properties’ Rafał the Poland & CEE content Kwiatkowski described Towarowa 22 at MIPIM, the world’s most (working title), a joint project with Griffin Real Estate. He told how the 6.5 ha com- important real estate event. plex, in the early stages of pre-development in the Wola business district, will be the largest mixed use project in central Warsaw, but very different in design Poland. The new tower expanded Olivia and function to the others, providing Business Centre’s floor area from 73,000 entertainment, leisure and retail ballast sqm to 100,000 sqm. Warehousing also to the office-heavy area. stole some of the show: Robert Dobrzycki, CEO of Panattoni Europe, presented Echo Investment CEO Nicklas Lindberg the huge, state-of-the-art four-storey described the development at Browary European Fulfilment Centre for Amazon Warszawskie, a historic brewery com- near Szczecin, the latest in its projects for plex dating from 1846, as a revitalised the internet retailing giant. The project area where the capital’s folk can work, clearly demonstrates how advanced the shop, live and be entertained - not to Polish market is, with cutting-edge techmention drink the local beer brewed by nology now the norm. the renewed brewery. After, Bartłomiej Hofman, head of Immobel Poland, pre- The second day’s panel brought together sented CEDET, a 22,400 sqm Warsaw market leaders to discuss CEE region office-dominated scheme with some fundamentals and the question, ‘Polska retail, located on the site of the former & CEE: closer together or further apart?’ SMYK store, and keeping the core of that The discussion, moderated by Judi iconic design. He outlined how the design Seebus, Editor of PropertyEU magateam recovered the original architec- zine, and Wiktor Doktór, CEO of the Pro tural drawings and are reproducing them Progressio Foundation, was kicked off by using modern materials. Part of the origi- Jacek Jaśkowiak, Mayor of Poznań. He nal historic building – a modernist design showed off his city as a good example of built in the 1950s – is now protected, a city to invest in, with its low unemployafter some of it was tragically destroyed ment rate, well-educated people and a pro-European leaning. In terms of menin a fire decades ago. tality, he commented, the city is almost as Skanska Property Poland’s managing close to Berlin as it is to Warsaw. director Arkadiusz Rudzki shone a light on High5ive, Kraków’s new urban space, Ghelamco’s Jeroen van der Toolen said providing a dynamic exchange between the inflow of tenants had never been so Above, Jake work and social life and reviving the heart high in Warsaw as it is today. After Brexit, Jephcott of Olivia of the city. He particularly emphasised its people seem to be moving from Western Business Centre in talked the strategic location by the city’s main train countries to Poland at an accelerated pace, Gdańsk audience through station and its landscaped gardens, avail- he inferred. Another trend, he stated, is the company’s flagable to citizens and office workers alike. companies taking space in the centre of ship Olivia Star Meanwhile, Olivia Business Centre’s Jake the city at the expense of less central areas. office tower Jephcott took the audience through Olivia Warsaw, he claimed, has one of the highest Star, the largest office project in northern net take up rates in Europe,

Directly above, the City of Poznań was

one of the many Polish cities to exhibit in the substantial Polish area of the MIPIM exhibition space.

59 Left, Warsaw Spire

brought home the big prize for Poland with Ghelamco’s centrepiece winning the Best Office and Business Development category at the MIPIM Awards. After the ceremony, Poland CEO Jeroen van der Toolen said, “I’m unbelievably happy because Poland won best office building worldwide for the first time. We have a fantastic team, thank you very much to everyone for voting."

Left, Bartłomiej Hofman of Immobel

Poland presented CEDET, the office project with a touch of retail in the iconic former Smyk building.

MIPIM is

renowned for its ‘evening networking opportunities’ at the many hotels and restaurants in Cannes.

Right, Arkadiusz Rudzki, Manag-

ing Director of Skanska Property Poland, presented the company’s key office scheme in Kraków, High5ive.

Far left, Nicholas Lindberg, CEO of

Echo Investment, talked about the revitalization project that is Browary Warszawskie.

Left, Robert Dobrzycki, CEO

Europe of Panattoni Europe, represented the warehouse & logistics sector during the CEE conference sessions at MIPIM.

Above, Richard Betts, Publisher of

PropertyEU, talks to Rafał Kwiatkowski of Echo Polska Properties about their retail project planned for Towarowa 22 in Warsaw.

MipiM 2017 real estate fair

despite the high Warsaw vacancy rate of around 15%. In centrally-located, newbuild schemes, he said, the vacancy rate was much lower. Finally, van der Toolen pointed out that companies are moving their offices from India and China to Poland and other CE countries. The cost is higher, but so is the quality of employees and quality of life, he said. In business support services, Katarzyna Zawodna, from Skanska Commercial Development Europe, said the CE region has great professionals, with over three million new graduates each year from a combined population of over 80 million. This quality, as well as excellent R&D centres, quality of space, sustainability and overall well-being, will always attract investors and businesses to the region. In Warsaw’s office market, Maciej Tuszyński from Griffin Real Estate Top right, Jacek Zawodna claimed that rental levels are said that, while general commentary may Jaśkowiak, Mayor very competitive, which shows inves- be that the CEE markets and Poland in of Poznań, Jeroen van der Toolen, MD tors know buildings aren’t over-rented. particular carried certain political and CEE at Ghelamco, She also highlighted the large popula- tax risks, the actual reality is that the mar- Omar Sattar, MD at tion cities other than Warsaw in which kets have already adjusted to the situation. Colliers in Prague Skanska has invested greatly, with major Transactions are closing and investors, he and Maciej Tuszyński projects in cities all over the country, stated, were showing an even more ele- from Griffin RealEstate. including in Kraków and Gdańsk. vated appetite than usual.

Above, Ewa Łabno-Falęcka

of Mercedes-Benz talked about why the company decided to build its new engine plant in Jawor, Poland.

Right, Paweł Zelich,

Head of the Real Estate Investment Group at Noerr LLP law firm said that the legal community has played its part in supporting business development.

Mercedes-Benz’s Ewa Łabno-Falęcka talked about why they had decided to build their new engine plant in Jawor on 50 acres of land. The decision-making process, she pointed out, had started well before the parliamentary elections of 2015 and that the current government had, in their experience, been extremely attentive and helpful. Production at the plant, Mercedes’ first engine factory outside Germany, will begin at the end of 2019. The company considered 35 locations in seven countries before choosing Jawor. The decision was helped by its micro-high unemployment - the rest of Lower Silesia has a lower unemployment rate - and quality infrastructure, especially its proximity to the meeting point of the A4 and S3 highways.

Paweł Żelich, from Noerr law firm, put the panel - and Poland’s situation - in perspective. Despite some less-thanideal PR in the last year or so, he said, the country had done well from a business perspective. He underscored this by suggesting the legal community had played its part in supporting business development by keeping up with its legal needs and servicing it well. Furthermore, he stated that despite the recent legal developments, the legal environment had not really changed for the business community. Finally, Omar Sattar from Colliers International in Prague reminded everyone that CEE is a lot more than just Warsaw and Poland, and played the role of sparring partner to the other Poland-based panelists.

Below, Katarzyna Zawodna, from

Skanska Commercial Development Europe pointed out that the CE region has over three million new graduates each year.

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Poland Today at MIPIM 2018 The world's leading real estate fair | 13-14th March 2018 | Palais des Festivals | Cannes, France

mipim & future of warsaw film partners

VA R S O P L A C E WAR SAW

Poland Today is once more playing a

Richard Stephens

founder & editor, Poland Today

leading role at MIPIM, the world’s foremost real estate event in Cannes. This year we’re diversifying, both geographically – by welcoming speakers from around the world – and in terms of subject matter, with sessions on the future of the Polish economy and PropTech, as well as getting the all-important lowdown on industry trends and issues in the region. As always, we’ll be providing a focal point for those active or interested in Central & Eastern Europe. And this year we’ll be showing our own film – The Future of Warsaw, to be premiered at the official City of Warsaw panel session, moderated by myself. If you don’t get to see it there, we’ll be posting it on social media not long after.

Tadeusz Kościński, Under-

Urban Issues MIPIM 2018

secretary of State in the Ministry of Enterprise & Technology: To continue the 25-year record of unbroken, above EU average, economic growth Poland must evolve from the imitation, low cost, work environment to an innovation based hi-tech socially and regionally inclusive environment. This migration will provide great opportunities for investment in industry 4.0 solutions, advanced shared services centres and modern infrastructure.

Tomasz Rudolf,

Co-founder & CEO, The Heart: International corporations like Samsung, J.P. Morgan or Goldman Sachs choose Poland as the location for their digital R&D hubs not only because of the region's engineering talent pool and cost advantages, but also because of its entrepreneurial mindset. Just like Copernicus, Poles have a rebel heart. And readiness to challenge industry assumptions is the key to success in digital transformation.

‘Poland Today’s programme at MIPIM consists of three panel discussion sessions, a cocktail party, a lunch and the premiere of the film we created together with the City of Warsaw’ Tuesday 13th March 16.00 – 17.00

Faces Of Emerging Europe – Jacek Jaśkowiak, Mayor of Poznań – Vitali Klitschko, Mayor of Kiev – Robert Dobrzycki, CEO Europe, Panattoni Europe – Olga Melihov, Country Head, BNP Paribas Real Estate Romania – Moderator: Andrew Wrobel, Head of Content Strategy and Publishing, Emerging Europe 17.00 – 17.30

The CEE Cocktail Party Hosted by Montenegro

– Guest of Honour: Pavle Radulović, Minister of Sustainable Development and Tourism, The Government of Montenegro

Wednesday 14th March 10.30 – 11.30

Transformation Nation: The Future Of The Polish Economy – Tadeusz Kościński, Undersecretary of State, Ministry of Enterprise & Technology – Tomasz Rudolf, Co-Founder & CEO, The Heart – Adam Pustelnik, Director of Investor Service and International Cooperation Bureau, City of Łódź – Otis Spencer MRICS, President, Peakside Polonia Management – Moderator: Courtney Fingar, Editor in Chief, FDI Magazine (part of the FT group)

12.00 – 13.00

How Proptech And Digital Transformation Can Dramatically Build Your Company’s Competitive Edge – Jens Böhnlein MRICS, Global Head Office Solutions & Design, CA Immo Deutschland (developer of ‚The Cube‘ in Berlin) – Bartosz Dobrowolski, Founder, Proptech Poland – Tomasz Trzósło, Managing Director, Poland, JLL – Aaron Block, Co-Founder & Managing Director, MetaProp NYC – Moderator: Julia Arlt, Innovation Real Estate Director, Europe, PwC, and StartUp Mentor, MetaProp NYC 13.00 – 13.30

Poland Today Networking Lunch Hosted by SIOR

– Del C. Markward, President/CEO/Broker at Markward Group and President of SIOR – Renata Osiecka, Managing Partner at AXI IMMO Group and President of SIOR European Chapter 14:30 – 15:30

Warsaw, The Largest Metropolis In CEE – New Areas For Development – Marlena Happach, Director of the Architecture and Spatial Planning Department, The City of Warsaw – Marcin Mostafa, Chairman of the Board, WWAA – Thomas Pucher, Founder, Atelier Thomas Pucher – Aleksandra Wasilkowska, Founder, Pracownia Architektoniczna Aleksandra Wasilkowska – Moderator: Richard Stephens, Founder & Editor, Poland Today

Urban Issues

Left: Aaron Block,

Left: Adam Pustelnik, Director

Co-Founder & Managing Director, MetaProp NYC

of Investor Service and International Cooperation Bureau, City of Łódź

Down: Courtney Fingar, Editor in

Chief, fDi Magazine

Left: Andrew Wróbel, Head

Left: Bartosz Dobrowolski,

of Content Strategy and Publishing, Emerging Europe

Above: Tadeusz Kościński,

Left: Jens Boehnlein, Global

Undersecretary of State, Ministry of Enterprise & Technology

Left: Julia Arlt, Innovation Real Estate Director, PwC Europe, and StartUp Mentor, MetaProp NYC

Head Office Solutions & Design, CA Immo Deutschland

Left: Olga Melihov,

Founder, Proptech Poland

Left: Otis Spencer, President, Peakside Polonia Management

Country Head, BNP Paribas Real Estate Romania

Left: Tomasz Rudolf, Co-Founder

& CEO, The Heart

Above: Robert Dobrzycki, CEO

Above: Vitali Klitschko,

Left: Tomasz Trzósło, Managing

Left: Jacek Jaśkowiak,

Europe, Panattoni Europe

Director, JLL Poland

Mayor of Kiev

Mayor of Poznań

poland today at MipiM 2018

Warsaw’s future projects shine bright in Cannes

Left: Poland Today's

photos: MIPIM

programme at MIPIM started off with the 'Faces of Emerging Europe' panel discussion.

MIPIM is a fourday international real estate exhibition, conference and networking event hosted in Cannes, France every March, that attracts 24,000 international property professionals.

Poland Today premiered its first film at the MIPIM 2018 real estate fair. The movie was the centrepiece of an ambitious and varied programme which consisted of four panel discussions, a cocktail party and a rooftop lunch. You would be forgiven for thinking that you had stumbled into the glamourous Cannes Film Festival rather than the 29th edition of the world’s leading property event if you entered the ‘Ruby Room’ on the 5th floor of the Palais de Festivales on Wednesday 14th March. For up on the big screen was a film. The film in question was ‘The Future of Warsaaw’. But rather than Hollywood actors and actresses, upcoming real estate schemes in Poland’s capital city were the stars.

improve its standards and provide a good quality of life to encourage Poles to return. However, the difference in salaries is the key factor driving people to western cities. Ukrainian immigrants make up a significant portion of the workforce in Poland, stated Jaśkowiak, to which Klitschko responded by saying this is also a huge challenge for Ukraine and in order to encourage people to return to their homeland, there need to be well-paid jobs. As for Romania, the country has experienced fast growth, said Olga Melihov, Country Head at BNP Paribas Real Estate Romania, which is helping to make an impact on salaries and bringing talented people to its cities. E-commerce in particular has seen a great need and demand for space and told the audience that interFaces of Emerging Europe national names are building B2C projects The film was the culmination of Poland as well. Another challenge, Brexit, may Today’s programme in Cannes, but it was actually be a mistake that creates opporkicked off by its first panel, ‘Faces of tunities for competitors if smart politiEmerging Europe’, moderated by Andrew cal decisions are made, claimed Robert Wrobel, Head of Content Strategy and Dobrzycki, CEO of Panattoni Europe. Publishing at Emerging Europe think tank, Partnerships with other corners of the which tackled the tough question: ‘What world also present an “opportunity and are the CEE region’s biggest challenges?’ risk, but the One Belt One Road initiaStepping up was former heavyweight box- tive is a chance for Poland, as well as for ing world champion and current Mayor Ukraine, to cooperate with China.” of Kiev, Vitali Klitschko, who admitted that his country struggles with corrup- Poland as Transformation Nation tion, but promised any investor willing There has been a transformation in Poland to invest in Ukraine that he will act as and investors still feel good about the a personal bodyguard. country, stated Courtney Fingar, Editor For Poland, one of the biggest problems in Chief of fDi Magazine and moderais preventing educated people from leav- tor, as she began the panel discussion ing the country, said the Mayor of Poznań, which focused on the future of the Polish Jacek Jaśkowiak, so the country must economy. Undersecretary of State in the

Above: Tomasz Trzósło, Managing Director, JLL Poland, spoke on the panel ‘ How Proptech and Digital Transformation can Dramatically Build your Company’s Competitive Edge.’

Ministry of Enterprise and Technology, Tadeusz Kościński, started by saying that Poland is actually moving from transformation into revolution. To give perspective on what’s happening, he provided a brief history of the restructuring of Poland after regaining independence: creating jobs and increasing reliance on foreign capital. Presently the government is currently making it easier to start a company in Poland and encourage foreign and domestic investors to invest in all corners of the country, not just in the bigger western ones. Tomasz Rudolf, co-founder and CEO of The Heart, a European centre for corporate-startup collaboration in Warsaw, said that it’s a slow process, but Poles are starting to build multinational companies. “On the startup side, the ecosystem is waking up,” he said, and is building innovation for the whole world. He admitted, however, that Poland lacks the ability to present ideas as good business models and needs to improve its storytelling. To invite visitors, inhabitants and investors, Łódź had to develop a story on why it’s attractive, said Adam Pustelnik, Director of Investor Service and International Cooperation Bureau at the City of Łódź. The market developed a trust in revitalisation so the city built a monumental ecological business district and a number of revitalised projects that preserve the city’s industrial history. From an American perspective, what attracted Otis Spencer, President of Peakside Polonia Management, to Poland was its energy, and he and his

67 Left: Proptech panel

included Tomasz Trzósło, Managing Director, Poland JLL; Sascha M. Donner, Co-founder, EVANA; Erik Fossum Faerevaag, CEO, Disruptive Technologies; Aaron Block, Cofounder & Managing Director, Metaprop NYC; Bartosz Dobrowolski, Founder, Proptech Poland; and moderator Julia Arlt, Innovation Real Estate Director, PwC Europe and StartUp Mentor, MetaProp NYC.

Left: Robert

Dobrzycki, CEO Europe, Panattoni Europe

Above: Vitali Klitschko, Mayor of Kiev and

former heavy-weight champion of the world.

Right: Andrew Wrobel, Head of Content Strategy and Publishing, Emerging Europe

Above: Jacek Jaśkowiak, Mayor of Poznań Left: Tadeusz

Kościński, Undersecretary of State, Ministry of Enterprise & Technology

Poland Today's

programme at MIPIM consisted of four panel discussion sessions, a cocktail party, a lunch and the premiere of the film created together with the City of Warsaw.

The film ‘Future of Warsaw’ had

its world premiere at MIPIM.

poland today at MipiM 2018

family decided to move to Poland instead of London because of the quality of life. He admitted, however, that Poland still has a problem with infrastructure and the lack of human capital is a rising concern. He added that the country needs to do a better job of attracting people from around Europe and provide support and consistent policies. Although Poland has supported the Polish diaspora worldwide, Minister Kościński said that more should be done to connect businesses operating abroad. He appreciates people who left 20 years ago and have found success elsewhere and doesn’t expect those Poles to come back, but they invest in their talented children, so he’d like to see the next generation return to Poland where the cost of living is lower and the quality of life can be better than in more developed countries. Proptech creates buzz, but does it solve problems? Five years ago, ‘proptech’ was not discussed at any MIPIM panel but this year the industry game-changer managed to pack a room even during lunch time on a perfect Cannes day. The key takeaway of the session was that integration between management systems and devices is crucial, startup companies should focus on creating solutions to real problems and proptech is a part of the technology revolution. Moderated by Julia Arlt, Innovation Real Estate Director at PwC Europe and StartUp Mentor at MetaProp NYC, the panelists were asked what proptech means to them and what it means for the real estate industry. Tomasz Trzósło, Managing Director at JLL Poland, said there are various technologies available that make businesses more profitable and productive, but these systems usually do not work together. The biggest milestone will be when these technologies will be integrated into one to allow for easier management of multiple buildings. In response to Trzósło, Erik Fossum Faerevaag, CEO of Disruptive Technologies, said building managers have different products which require dashboards, hardware and drivers, but they are beginning to use virtual value chains which can allow for integration in the future. The reason for the lack of integration currently, Bartosz Dobrowolski, Founder of Proptech Poland explained, is because manufacturers of these systems protect their application programming interfaces (APIs) – just as banks did before the fintech boom. Proptech startups should be wary, however, of creating technologies that solve no problem, partially because companies don’t communicate what those problems are, claimed Dobrowolski. In order to understand the real estate industry, the German company

EVANA creates digital data models based said the location is surrounded by proon artificial intelligence and algorithms. tected heritage buildings so developing Its co- founder, Sascha M. Donner, stated around them was challenging, but they that proptechs are moving fast and have designed a unique project that creates provided new ideas for the industry over an intimate yet public space. the last few years but there needs to be Marcin Mostafa, Chairman of a holistic and integrated approach to tech- the Board at the architectural firm WWAA, said, “The quality of architecture nology in the industry. Investors are looking at proptech has an impact on the quality of life of the from different perspectives, said Aaron inhabitants in the city. It’s about the relaBlock, co-founder and managing director tion between the space’s function and at MetaProp in New York City. They look the users of these spaces.” He added that at the cultural evolution of companies, Soho Factory in Praga is a space for creavendors and clients and need to be ahead tive businesses such as WWAA and conof the game because they’re afraid of tains gastronomy and residential spaces “functional obsolescence”. Entrepreneurs that embody the ‘Work, Live, Be’ motto. Another important part of city life invest when it’s good to buy low and sell high, he claimed, so “if you believe that are the markets and bazaars, accordthis industry is going in the same direc- ing to Aleksandra Wasilkowska, founder tion that financial services went, it’s a very of Pracownia Architektoniczna good time to be investing in proptech.” Aleksandra Wasilkowska, who said that they are like magnets for attracting resRevitalisation is key idents to schemes. One such bazaar at Warsaw discussion is the oldest and most famous outdoor The final panel was hosted by the City marketplace in Warsaw, Różycki Bazaar of Warsaw and moderated by Richard in Praga-Północ, which is marked for Stephens, founder and editor of Poland modernisation. Multiple mixed-use facilToday magazine, Marlena Happach, ities, world-class skyscrapers and outDirector of the Architecture and Spatial door meeting places are planned to break Planning Development, said that in order ground in the next few years, which supto utilise the city’s full potential, the strat- ports Happach’s notion that the “city egy will be to revitalise existing build- is living and changing all the time.” ings as was done with Hala Koszyki and The panel was followed by the famous Hala Gwardii, for example, but also to City of Warsaw cocktail party at their concentrate on the other side of the river stand, a tradition which – somehow – in the Praga district. She said that before attracts more people every year, filling the Koneser and Soho Factory projects, the Poland area to bursting point. Long they were forgotten spots until architects may it continue. recreated them as unique destinations. Even the untouched area surrounding the Palace of Culture and Science will see new developments – with the upcoming Museum of Modern Art on Plac Defilad to be surrounded by accessible public space. A highly anticipated cultural project, the Sinfonia Varsovia concert hall, will also be located in the Praga district and its creator, Thomas Pucher, founder of Atelier Thomas Pucher,

69 Right: Richard Stephens, Founder & Editor-in-Chief of Poland Today Below: ‘Transformation Nation: The Future of the Polish Economy’ panel

Above: Thomas

Pucher, Founder, Atelier Thomas Pucher

Left: Courtney Fingar, Editor-in-chief, fDi Magazine moderated the panel ‘Transformation Nation’

photos: MIPIM

Left: Architects discussed upcoming projects during the panel: ‘Warsaw, the Largest Metropolis in CEE - New Areas for Development’.

Below: Adam

Pustelnik, Director of Investor Service and International Cooperation Bureau, City of Łódź was a speaker on the panel ‘Transformation Nation: The Future of the Polish Economy.’

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Growing, stable, attractive

photos: Piotr Dziubak

New capital is streaming into the CEE region, due to improving growth and a record of stability

Above:

The conference split into smaller groups for several informal breakout discussions.

Central and Eastern Europe remains aÂ highly attractive destination for real estate investors, said participants in the Poland & CEE Real Estate Summit, organized by Poland Today and Property Investor Europe at the Bristol Hotel in Warsaw in June. They agreed that there are still many top-notch investment opportunities in Central and Eastern Europe, with new investors coming from markets including Asia now showing a great deal of interest in the region. In terms of the macroeconomic situation in Central and Eastern Europe, the growth prospects are improving, said Anna Zabrodzka, an economist at Moodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Analytics. In addition, the crisis in Ukraine has had little impact on the investment sentiment in Poland, said Jan Cienski, a former Financial Times correspondent market. In the next few years, investors Above: Dennis Dart representing Secure Legal Title, Eric Assimakopoulos of Revetas in Poland and now a senior fellow at the will go to the regional cities in the country, Capital Advisors and Philipp Stampfer Demos Europa think tank. He argued that rather than further east, Zajdel said. of Benson Elliott Capital Managers the crisis has actually strengthened the discussed who the investors in CEE image of Poland as a safe country: inves- When it comes to drawbacks, Robert are, and what they want. tors are now decamping from Ukraine Martin, principal, head of Central Europe and those planning to enter CEE will at Europa Capital, noted that the region be choosing Poland over Ukraine, he said. is a relatively small market compared to those in Western Europe, accounting for Otis Spencer, managing director at just 3% of the European property investPeakside Capital, emphasized that Poland ment market. Dieter Knittel, director the increased interest of Asian capital in has a growth story to tell investors. Tomasz of international real estate finance for the region, said Allan Saunderson, manPuch, head of office and industrial capital Europe at pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank, aging editor at Property Investor Europe. markets at JLL in Poland, pointed out that said that another problem for the Polish Not much of that capital has been allocated yet and Asian investors have been while Warsaw is now a real hot spot, there market is its lack of product. is also a lot of growth potential in Polandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reluctant to reveal their investment stratregional cities. Maciej Zajdel, president of Meanwhile, new money is coming to CEE egies. However, they have a lot of money the management board at IVG Poland said from countries including the United States. behind them and are looking for opporthat Warsaw is already perceived as a core However, the real game changer could be tunities, he said. by Adam Zdrodowski

Left: Robert Dobrzycki from Panattoni

Europe, Otis Spencer from Peakside Capital and Maciej Zajdel from IVG Poland discussed whether global investors are ready to go further east than Poland.

Left: The ‘speed dating’ session proved popular. Here Lech Wodecki from Strabag Property & Facility talks to Stratos Chatzigiannis from NBGI Private Equity Limited.

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Left: Allan Saunderson from Property

Investor Europe (PIE) makes a point during the conference.

Below: Tomasz Lisiecki, Chief

Development Officer at TriGranit Development Corporation.

Below: Jan Cienski,

former Warsaw & Prague correspondent for the Financial Times, closed the conference with some insights on the future of Ukraine.

Below: Anna Zabrodzka of Moody’s Analytics told the conference that prospects look hopeful for the CEE region.

Left: Dieter Knittel of pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank, Robert Sztemberg from JLL and Helge Sehorz from Erste Group Immorent investigated whether the financing banks are playing ball.

Above: Dieter Knittel from pbb Deutsche

Pfandbriefbank, Joanna Kowalska-Szymczak from Kulczyk Silverstein Properties, Robert Martin from Europa Capital and Tomasz Puch from JLL debated whether Poland is already overbought and overpriced.

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ConferenCe

Foreign capital flowing in Central and Eastern Europe’s real estate markets are awash with investor money

Above: The Poland

photos: Piotr Dziubak

& CEE Summit attracted 145 highlevel decision makers from across Europe.

Central and Eastern Europe remains a highly attractive destination for international real estate companies, with investors continuing to allocate new capital and developers continuing to find new expansion opportunities in virtually all of the countries across the region. Poland is still the regional leader, with Warsaw seen as the top destination, said participants in the Poland & CEE Real Estate Summit, hosted by Poland Today and Property According to Patrick Delcol, CEO for CEE Investor Europe at the Bristol Hotel in the at BNP Paribas Real Estate, there is also Polish capital in June. a lot of investor interest in assets that offer the potential for the development of addiThere is now a lot of foreign money, tional space. However, shortage of proda considerable portion of it coming from uct is an issue, Delcol said. the United States, waiting to be invested in real estate in Central and Eastern Banks are again lending more (with loanEurope, participants said. German invest- to-value ratios reaching up to 70%) and at ment funds also remain active. Asian capi- a lower cost. Bank financing has become tal is already active in CEE, but it is often cheaper too, said Dieter Knittel, direcnot easily visible, being managed by fund tor of Europe real estate finance at pbb managers from countries such as the UK, Deutsche Pfandbriefbank. said Jos Tromp, head of research and conRegional leader sulting, CEE and Africa, at CBRE. Poland is still the clear leader in the ‘Platform’ is an important word among Central and Eastern Europe region in investors in Central and Eastern Europe terms of its attractiveness for real estate at the moment. Investors are interested in investors, for reasons including the size transactions involving the acquisition of a of the market and the fact that the counnumber of assets across Poland or indeed try offers opportunities in a number of the whole region, the participants in the large cities, rather than just the capital. conference said. The recent purchase by Although significantly smaller markets Oaktree and PIMCO of a major stake in than Poland, the Czech Republic and Warsaw Stock Exchange-listed developer Hungary now also remain attractive. “I Echo Investment is a good example of this would go to Poland, the Czech Republic trend. Echo Investment arguably has one and Hungary before going to Bulgaria and of the most attractive project portfolios Romania,” said Dennis Dart, a consultant among all the developers active in Poland. at Secure Legal Title.

Left: Jos Tromp,

head of research and consulting for CEE and Africa at CBRE

During his keynote speech delivered at the conference, Tomasz Marciniak, a partner at McKinsey & Company, pointed to the economic success story of Poland, noting that the gap between the country and the EU15 has, to a large extent, been closed over the last 25 years. According to official forecasts, the Polish economy should grow by around 3% annually in the coming years. However, Marciniak said he believed Poland could see GDP growth of as much as 4% in the coming years if a number of bold reforms were carried out in the country. In an optimistic scenario, “we can catch up with Spain in 10 years,” Marciniak said. He added that Poland currently needs a major multi-sector transformation program which could help put the country in the top league and make it the seventh largest economy in the EU. By 2025, Poland could beat countries such as Spain and Portugal in GDP per capita. However, for that to happen, a number of major sectors in the country’s economy, including mining and agriculture, will have to be thoroughly reformed and modernised. by Adam Zdrodowski

77 Left: Matthias

BrodeĂ&#x;er, head of transaction management international at HIH Global Invest, taking part in the Warsaw office breakout session

Below: Wolfgang

Molnar, senior account manager at Erste Bank

Left: Patrick Delcol, CEO for Central & Eastern Europe at BNP Paribas Real Estate Far left: Tomasz

Marciniak, local partner at McKinsey & Company

Above:

Robert Dobrzycki, managing partner for Europe at Panattoni

Below: Allan Saunderson, editor-in-chief of Property Investor Europe and Adrian Karczewicz, transaction director at Skanska Commercial Development Europe

Above: Victor

Constantinescu, partner & head of real estate at Biris Goran law firm in Bucharest and Konstantin Boyadzhiev, business development director at Galaxy Investment Group in Bulgaria

Left (above):

Jean-Bernard Wurm, co-founder and managing director at Secure Legal Title

Left (below):

Piotr Piasecki, head of corporate finance at JLL Warsaw

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Cee suMMit in WarsaW

The importance of city vision Many leaders in their fields participated in the CEE Summit in Warsaw, which Poland Today co-organised with the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and PropertyEU, but there will be no complaints if special mention is made of the presence of two legends of urban development from across the pond: Carl Weisbrod, Chairman of the New York City Planning Department, and Tom Murphy, the former Mayor of Pittsburgh. Both men shared their rich experience with a rapt audience of real estate professionals and civic authorities. Their words also provided a natural context to the capital markets discussion which was a strong feature of the conference. Carl Weisbrod revealed the ‘three legs’, as he termed them, of NYC’s economic development policy from the beginning to the present day: Diversity in economics and demographics, human talent, and the importance of infrastructure in maintaining a competitive edge. On human talent, he emphasised the innate immigrant nature of the city. “Over three million of our 8.5 million residents are foreign-born,” he said. “About 40 percent of them have arrived since 2000 or later, and half of New Yorkers speak a language other than English at home.” NYC, he made clear, wears this badge with pride. Moreover, he said that in the experience of his city, it is always the children of immigrants – the so called ‘2nd generation’ - who are the most dynamic and motivated amongst the population. Something for Polish society to note, surely. Tom Murphy, a three-term mayor of Pittsburgh from 1994-2005, is famous for transforming the city from a seemingly hopeless case in the post-war years to being named ‘Most Livable City’ in the country by The Economist. “We did it through partnership with the private sector,” stated Murphy. “Developers weren’t our adversaries, they were our partners. We shared the risk with them and we shared the reward.” The city’s reputation for union intransigence was turned on its head and is now known for innovation and entrepreneurship. Cultural facilities like the ballet and opera were built on former industrial sites, and the old baseball stadium was blown up, with a new one built dowtown. Basically, they made the city centre a place of excitement. “A city can’t just drift towards the future,” advised Murphy. “It has to know where it’s going. It has to have leadership and attract talent. Authenticity is crucial – it can’t just copy other cities. Warsaw needs to keep the authenticity that makes it a unique place, but there needs to be a strategic vision so when the investors and developers say ‘we want to build this’, it fits into a bigger picture.”

Below: In 1983 Pittsburgh was officially the most economically depressed city in America after deteriorating rapidly since the war, when it had been the industrial centre of the country, producing 60 percent of its steel. Between 1970 and 1990 it lost 15 percent of its population. Now it is one of the most desirable places to live in the world. Former Mayor Tom Murphy told CEE Summit attendees how he drove this transformation.

81 Right: Carl Weisbrod, Chairman of the New York City Planning Commission

Below: Rafał

Kulczycki, Director of City Development, Kraków, Leszek Sikora, Managing Director, ECE Projekt-management Polska, Maciej K. Król, CEO, Xcity Investment

Left: Hadley Dean, CEO of Echo Prime Properties, with Robert Dobrzycki, CEO of Panattoni Europe Below:

Tom Murphy, former mayor of Pittsburgh.

photos: Agata Dąbrowska

Above: Przemysław Krych, Founder & CEO, Griffin Real Estate

Left: Gordon Black, Senior Managing Director, European Private RE Equity Group, Heitman.

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Cee suMMit 2017

Investing in New Europe For two days in June, global investors and CEE market leaders from the real estate sector got together to discuss ‘New Europe’ and its impact on cities, sectors, development and capital markets. The conference kicked off with keynote speaker Professor Witold Orlowski, Chief Economic Advisor at PwC, who stated that CEE had regained its strength and was now able to take its rightful place at the heart of the European economy. He said, “We are going back to normality after the sharp deterioration under communism and then the upheaval of the financial crisis. Eighty years ago this region was an integral part of the European economy, and now it is regaining its rightful position.” As part of a panel looking into the next big drivers for city investment, Michał Mieciński, Counsel at Linklaters, said, “What we are increasingly seeing, apart from traditional investments - offices, retail, logistics - is alternative investments, like student housing, REITS, coworking spaces, hotels and hospitality. In sourcing capital, we are increasingly seeing new investors in the market from Asia and South Africa.” Additionally, he suggested that Warsaw, Tricity, Wrocław, Prague, Bucharest and Budapest offer the best Above, Martin Sabelko, founder of HOI Ininvestment prospects for investors. After ternational and one of the most experienced the first day of proceedings had drawn to investors in the CEE region, gave a masterful summary of the conference and insight into a close, attendents were treated to a cock- regional investment dynamics. tail reception at the historic Szucha palace, kindly sponsored by Szucha Premium Offices, a CEE Summit partner.

The CEE Summit 2017 was organised

for the fourth year running by Poland Today and PropertyEU. The event features speakers from both inside and outside the CEE region.

photos: CEE Summit

The second day was opened by Maurits Cammeraat, Director of Professional Standards, INREV, who gave a keynote speech on what investors need to know about non-listed real estate funds, and Richard Divall, Head of Cross Border Capital Markets EMEA at Colliers International, who spoke about Global Capital Sources. Afterwards, Divall joined a panel discussing which sectors and locations offered the best returns in CEE. He said that infrastructure is one of the key factors governing decisions about where to invest, citing London’s Crossrail as an example of an infrastructure initiative influencing investors’ investment choices. Asian capital, he went on to say, is looking to diversify from the UK into continental Europe, and there could be some benefits for CEE from this. Commenting on whether there is too much in the Warsaw office pipeline, Robert Sztemberg, head of German lender Berlin Hyp’s Warsaw office, said that the supply issue should be seen in context. “I’ve always seen the Warsaw office market as positive, and I still do. It is still a small market of just over five million metres squared in a country with a population of 40m. Compare that to Hamburg,

which has a similar – perhaps even smaller – population, yet three times the office stock.” Moreover, he noted, Poland is much more centralised around its capital than Germany. “Warsaw’s supply in the next three years doesn’t scare me,” he said. Following a well-deserved coffee break, talk turned to whether or not the CEE could be a driving force for European logistics. According to Robert Dobrzycki, CEO Europe of Panattoni Europe, logistics is “the most attractive asset class going forward. Demand will stay strong.” He added that Poland had already shown it can embrace innovation - Panattoni’s 67,000 metres squared Amazon warehouse in Poznań, Dobrzycki said, is “the most efficient Amazon building in the world.” Tomasz Kasperowicz, partner and director Colliers International, said, Above, Robert “The Polish market has never been bet- Dobrzycki, CEO ter in terms of attractiveness. It is doing Europe of Panattoni Europe, discussed extremely well, it has great potential the booming wareand is attracting a lot of interest from house & logistics investors. CEE does not have the vol- sector with his peers. ume or critical mass to be the driving force of European logistics yet, but we will get there eventually.”

Right, Professor Orłowski of PwC

answers a question from James Shotter of the Financial Times.

85 Right, Richard Divall MRICS, Head of

Cross Border Capital Markets EMEA, Colliers International, talked about the different types of investor on the global scene, and which are active in CEE.

Left, Michał Miecińśki Counsel at Linklaters, highlighted that the market is increasingly seeing alternative forms of investment such as student housing, co-working space and hospitality.

Left, Yolande Barnes, London-based

Director of World Research at Savills, gave perspective to global real estate dynamics by talking about new trends driven by the Millennials.

Above, Robert Sztemberg, Head

of Berlin Hyp Warsaw Office, Berlin Hyp, said he was not fazed by the office supply coming online in Warsaw.

Audience participation. Attendees

at the event were not shy in letting their voices be heard.