Observer Top 5

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OBSERVER TOP 5 RANKING office property developers

Aiming high

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Ghelamco Poland

Office investments completed in 2013:

56,524 sqm of GLA

T-Mobile Office Park offers 40,000 sqm of office space

W

arsaw is the most popular market for office property, with buildings going up across the city each year. Ghelamco, the biggest office developer in Poland in terms of GLA in 2013, is now building the highest office block in the city.

The Warsaw Spire is scheduled for completion in 2015. The scheme will not only be the tallest office building in Warsaw, but also one of the tallest in Europe. The main tower will have 48 floors and reach up to 180 meters in total height. There will also be two smaller buildings in the complex, each of them 55-meters high. The three buildings

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combined will offer 100,000 sqm of office, retail and service space.

This flagship project is being built in Warsaw’s Wola district, an area well known for its business opportunities. Not far from the scheme will be the entrance to one of the stations of Warsaw’s new second subway line, scheduled to open in late 2014.

Ghelamco started out in Belgium as an industrial property developer in 1985 and by 1991 it was already operating in Poland. In those early years of post-communist transition, it focused on getting to know the market and preparing the ground for future investment.

Since then Ghelamco has managed to deliver more than 400,000 sqm of office space in Poland, and has sold 15 of its projects here, generating some €850 billion in transaction proceeds.

The company focuses on the office market in Warsaw. However, it is also present in major Polish cities such as Wrocław and Katowice, and it has finalized logistics and residential developments as well as office projects.

Office schemes currently in the company’s pipeline include Synergy Business Park in Wrocław and three developments in Warsaw: Spinnaker Tower, Sobieski Tower and Sienna Towers. u

Images: Ghelamco, HB Reavis

Projects completed in 2010-2013: T-Mobile Office Park (Warsaw; 40,000); Łopuszańska Business Park (Warsaw; 16,524); Senator (Warsaw; 25,566); Mokotów Nova (Warsaw; 41,413) Key current investments: Warsaw Spire (Warsaw; 100,000) Total number of employees: 200 Year founded in Poland: 1991

Key market position 2

HB Reavis Poland

Office investments completed in 2013:

48,000 sqm of GLA

Konstruktorska Business Center offers 48,000 sqm of office space

H

B Reavis has been active in Poland since 2008 and has, to date, acquired projects with almost 340,000 sqm of office space in Warsaw. With two projects and over 90,000 sqm of space under construction, the group is the leading office developer in the city.

“Warsaw is the most important location for HB Reavis because it boasts the biggest office space growth in Europe, which gives

the city the key market position within the CEE region,” said Stanislav Frnka, country CEO at HB Reavis Poland.

Gdański Business Center is a modern office complex with a total of over 46,000 sqm GLA, scheduled to be delivered in 2014. It is located on the edge of Warsaw’s CBD, next to the Dworzec Gdański subway and suburban railway station.

The complex comprises two buildings, a 17-floor and a 9-floor one, equipped with

Projects completed in 2010-2013: Konstruktorska Business Center (Warsaw; 48,566) Key current investments: Postępu 14 (Warsaw; 34,445); Gdański Business Center I (Warsaw; 46,348); Gdański Business Center II (Warsaw; 50,127); West Station I-II (Warsaw; 63,305) Total number of employees: 70 Year founded in Poland: 2008

a number of sustainable features. They will be powered exclusively with renewable energy sources. KPMG, one of the biggest audit and advisory companies in the world, will be one of the key tenants in Gdański Business Center.

The other HB Reavis project, Postępu 14, is located in Warsaw’s southern Służewiec Przemysłowy business district.

The building totals 33,000 sqm GLA and is set to be completed in 2015. u

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Office investments completed in 2013:

Office investments completed in 2013:

Office investments completed in 2013:

sqm of GLA

sqm of GLA

sqm of GLA

Skanska Property Poland

41,364

Projects completed in 2010-2013: Green Towers (Wrocław; 30,302); Malta House (Poznań; 15,804); Green Horizon (Łódź; 33,380); Nordea House/Green Corner (Warsaw; 28,493) Key current investments: Silesia Business Park (Katowice; 48,472); Dominikański (Wrocław; 39,970); Kapelanka 42 (Kraków; 30,491) Total number of employees: 74 Year founded in Poland: 1997

Liebrecht & wooD Poland

41,300

Projects completed in 2010-2013: Plac Unii (Warsaw; 41,300) Key current investments: Flanders Business Park C (Warsaw; 7,395) Total number of employees: 50 Year founded in Poland: 1994

EURO Styl

19,724

Projects completed in 2010-2013: Opera Office (Gdańsk; 8,291); BPH Office Park (Gdańsk; 19,724) Key current investments: Centaurus (Olsztyn; 15,360) Total number of employees: 22 Year founded in Poland: 2007 Data source: Warsaw Business Journal Book of Lists; www.bookoflists.pl

This ranking is based on a survey conducted by the Book of Lists team. Companies not responding to our survey are not listed.

WBJ OBSERVER • march 2014

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