Poland is an attractive investment destination with a central continental location with high standards of production. How is the real estate market to develop while GDP, consumption and industrial production are all rising and how is the warehouse and logistics market to develop now that Poland is part of the New Silk Road?
These were some of the questions addressed by the first panel of the 4th Invested Interest – Investment Market Conference organised by Eurobuild Conferences, which was devoted to Poland’s position in the international investment arena.
“Our geographical location adds to our attractiveness for investors and so does the size of our market and our rapid economic growth. We are also lucky in as much as we started late, so production in Poland is better thought-through. As a result our properties are of high quality. We can see particularly quick growth in the hotel sector, which so far has been suffering from limited supply. The logistics market is also growing quickly. We are not behind in terms of more traditional assets such as offices, shopping centres and logistic centres. Furthermore, we are also expecting another record year, and investment in Polish real estate should be in excess of EUR 5 bln,” claimed Piotr Piasecki, the head of corporate finance at JLL.
According to Przemysław Kucharski, an attorney and a managing partner at Kucharski & Partners, who moderated the panel, the logistic market is going through a golden age. “It is hard to disagree with this claim. We see that the prospects are good not only here in Poland but also in the other countries we are present in. However, Poland has very solid economic foundations for sustained growth – because of its location and the overall health of its economy. This also attracts investors who are start to expand into Poland from the logistics sector,” argues Karina Trojańska, the chief operating and financial officer in Poland at Panattoni Europe.
“How is the development of the New Silk Road changing the situation in Poland and the region?” asked Przemysław Kucharski.
“This is a spectacular project which will connect 65 countries with 65 pct of the population of the globe with a 30-40 pct share of global GDP. This is creating a number of indirect opportunities for Poland, such as improving transport infrastructure and new retail opportunities. We could also benefit directly from it. – The New Central Polish Airport is talked of as a part of the project,” points out Piotr Klapkowski, the China desk leader at Savills Polska.
“Poland is a very interesting market. We have a lot of institutional investors supporting us, who care about reliable returns and value predictability. Poland is also attractive to companies investing in real estate, so the competition to buy the best buildings is very intense and you have to work hard to win them. There is of course the question of the political situation – which you have to keep an eye on but the first thing to focus on is the fundamentals,” claims Jarosław Wnuk, of Bluehouse Capital. “The rapid growth of the market is encouraging developers to begin new projects and one of the main drivers is the office market. What prospects does this segment have?” asked the moderator.
“The market is changing fast and we are trying to keep up. We have 300,000 sqm in seven developments. We operate mainly on regional markets but we’re also in Warsaw. We are planning to invest more in these locations but we’re not just limiting ourselves to Poland. We’re also looking at London and Berlin,” stated Monika Rogucka, the Warsaw director of commercialisation at Cavatina.
Source: english.eurobuildcee.com