History well written
FeatureMagdalena Szulc, director of Segro Central Europe
Eurobuild is an essential source of information about the market. Over the years the magazine has established itself as the leader among industry publications and it is one of the most widely-read real estate magazines. Since the very beginning the editorial team has not been afraid of breaking stories and has given us a fresh look at the sector, which is why I treat reading the magazine not only as my professional duty but also as a pleasure. We congratulate the entire team and we look forward to all the future issues.
Piotr Gromniak, president of the board, Echo Investment
I have been reading Eurobuild since… forever. I read it particularly eagerly when I see news about Echo Investment in a given issue. And seriously, it is one of the few industry titles we have been with since the beginning. During this period, both our company and Eurobuild magazine have developed – both companies have had to overcome many difficulties in order to reach their current market positions. I appreciate the monthly for its broad look at the sector, its professional approach to topics, and the truly high standard of the contents. I appreciate Eurobuild for its cross-sectional market analyses, intriguing forecasts and for alerting us to new trends, but first of all for
the interviews with the most important players in our sector. Even though a dozen or so years have since passed, I remember my first long interview for Eurobuild and I still keep a copy of the issue today.
Zygmunt Chyla, president of the board, TK Polska Operations
Eurobuild forms a substantial part of the history of the development of the property markets of Warsaw, Poland and the wider region. I remember Eurobuild from more pioneering times, when there was no Galeria Mokotów, no Empark, not to mention the skyscrapers in central Warsaw. Eurobuild published my views back in 1998 and 2002, and these memories obviously have a sentimental value for me. Looking at the photos published with the articles is like travelling back in time – and the interview from 2002 could be a kind of reference list for us. The planned buildings we discussed not only operate today, but have also been expanded. I have always read and valued Eurobuild highly, both for the interesting and professionally presented content, and the current news and topics discussed. May you publish at least 200 more issues!
Karol Bartos, executive director of portfolio and asset management, Tristan Capital Partners
The 200th edition of Eurobuild made us realise how time flies. 17 years ago I had no clue whether I wanted to work in real estate. I had just been issued with an identity card and was wondering what I should study. I nearly became a historian! But one day during my studies I came across an issue of Eurobuild and discovered the fascinating world of real estate. While leafing through its pages, the callow student that I was at the time became acquainted with the arcana of business and got to know who was who on the market. The market as it was then now seems very small, because you could fit all the people working on it in one room. Today, when hundreds of people are working in the real estate sector, Eurobuild remains the basic source of information about the market and being featured on the cover of the magazine is undoubtedly a badge of honour. I was bestowed with this honour two years ago and posed like a model on the cover of Vogue, which became the source of endless jokes at work. I seemed to be musing, “I’m so mysterious that I don’t understand myself...” I will not mention the colleagues who kept stopping at my desk with a nonchalantly raised hand touching their foreheads. But I was proud! Eurobuild had spotted me! Although I am now tempted to compare the editor-in-chief Ewa Andrzejewska to Vogue editor Anna Wintour, one thing is for sure: Eurobuild is the bible of our real estate market and as soon as it is published we have to get our hands on a copy to find out what’s hot. Congratulations on your two-hundredth issue. We are waiting eagerly for issue number 400!
Tomasz Buras, managing director, Poland, Savills
How time flies! I remember that when I was just starting my adventure with real estate in 2002 both the market and we were all very young. Warsaw was being built up, there was no reason for going to the regional cities – everybody spent much more time in Warsaw and they spent it on integration. As a young agent I was proud of my every photo in Eurobuild, which we looked for every month in each issue. And my first printed quotes or interviews were a great step up for me! I have a lot of fond memories from conferences and trips organised by Eurobuild. The magazine has grown together with the market and extended its reach to the entire region of Central and Eastern Europe while remaining the leading printed commercial real estate magazine. Nowadays the accessibility of information is so simple and broad that it is a challenge for journalists to select the news and inspire a high standard of substantive debate on the trends and the state of the sector. The same goes for conferences and the various formats of opinion exchange and industry meetings, which there are more and more of. I would like to wish all the best to Eurobuild’s editorial team on the occasion of this great anniversary – and I wish you inspiration, consistency and to maintain Eurobuild’s high quality in the years to come!
Michał Sternicki, general manager for Poland, Aareal Bank
Eurobuild has accompanied the real estate sector in Poland for many years now, following its social and business events. Nowadays it is difficult to imagine the industry without this magazine and its team, who have been familiar to everyone for many years. With all my heart I wish the team another two hundred issues and inspiring interviews! When my thoughts go back to the central topics of the cover article of 2009, it turns out a lot of the issues brought up at the time are still valid. Some of the opinions have taken on a different context over the years and some have actually turned out to be wrong diagnoses.
Paulina Krasnopolska, communications director, JLL
When Ernest Kiruja came in 1998 to Jones Lang Wootton’s office, as we were at the time, with the news that he was establishing the new Eurobuild magazine I was more than happy. At the end of the 1990s the king of the Polish commercial real estate market was ‘Estates News’ magazine, which was poor quality, so I was happy that there would be competition on the market. I promised Ernest that I would support him both substantively and in terms of advertising. I remember when I wrote the article entitled ‘The first million square metres of office space in Poland’ for Eurobuild in 1999. In 2003 I featured on the cover of the magazine with Ania Staniszewska (who worked for DTZ at the time), Elwira Zielska (Jones Lang LaSalle at the time) and Mathieu Giguere (Cushman & Wakefield at the time) as the Warsaw Research Forum team (my name was then Paulina Górska and I worked for CB Richard Ellis). I have good memories of my cooperation with the editor-in-chief Magda Szczecińska-Konstantynowicz, Emil Górecki, Radek Górecki as well as the excellent journalists who still work for the magazine and, of course, the editor-in-chief Ewa Andrzejewska. I consider my cooperation with the sales department – Rafał Gaj and Elwira Soćko – to be very good. An excellent team, a good magazine, but that’s not all. Its website has got better and better, it has a good presence in the social media (very well run Twitter and Facebook pages as well as individual LinkedIn profiles), and then there is Eurobuild TV, conferences, sports events and the prestigious Eurobuild Awards gala. I am glad that from a local magazine under the name of Eurobuild Poland it has become the best magazine on the market, reaching developers, investors, advisers, contractors, lawyers and consultants related to the real estate market. Admittedly, the Estates News monthly no longer exists, but the competition has continued to grow, there are excellent real estate portals, industry magazines and more and more companies are organising conferences. But Eurobuild has stood out all this time – in terms of its quality, high standard of journalism and interesting news. Eurobuild is the history of the commercial real estate market in Poland and the CEE region, and it is well written.
Hadley Dean, Colliers International
I can’t believe you have done 200 magazines! There aren’t that many magazines that have survived that long. That is actually a testimony to the quality and the spirit that you bring to the real estate industry. It is not just the magazine. It is what you do for the sector. Congratulations, by the way. 200 is remarkable. When Ernest put me on the front cover back in September 2001, my parents actually got it framed and hung it in the our loo at home. In England that’s what you do: it’s a sacred place, the toilet and a real sign of honour and respect. My recollection of that time was that it was a challenging one, because it was just after the September 11th attacks. We all remember those times and know where we were and what happened and how dramatic it all was – and what happened after that. Economically there was the dot.com crash and what we had on the Warsaw market was a huge oversupply in offices, because everyone thought that we would join the European Union in 2003, but we didn’t until 2004. So all these offices came on line in 2002, giving us 25 pct vacancy and it was a really, really difficult time. But funnily enough actually it was that time that shaped our business now, because that was when we decided to go into occupier services and focus on tenants and was when we built up our business.
Andrzej Mikołajczyk, managing director, CA Immo Real Estate Management Poland
I often think about Eurobuild as my professional peer. We “were born” onto the Warsaw real estate market around 1998 and since that time the passing months have been measured by subsequent issues... and there are already 200 of them now. Someone might ask “how much can you write about commercial real estate?” It turns out that you can write quite a lot and still write interestingly. And both when there were just five modern office buildings in the city as well as today when there are nearly 500. Eurobuild’s journalists were always able to find interesting topics and, importantly, reach the opinion leaders of the market, always presenting us with credible news as well as a fresh and unique look at the most up-to-date issues in our industry. I think that I can risk saying that everyone whose opinion counts in the sector has expressed their views on the pages of Eurobuild at some point, thus I am even more pleased about the fact that I have had the pleasure to contribute something myself on a few occasions. I would like congratulate my friends among the Eurobuild staff and would like to wish them another 200 editions, which will be just as good or better! The commercial real estate sector in Warsaw would not be the same without you!
Richard Aboo, partner, head of the office department, Cushman & Wakefield
The market has changed immensely since the time of my first article. Tenants are certainly more educated and demand much more from agents. We are seeing a change in approach, where agents are taking less and less of a broker stance and more the position of advisor. The majority of companies are increasingly turning to real estate agents to manage their processes and generally striving to be more compliant. Eurobuild, apart from a pure sentimental perspective, has been one of the most – if not the only – consistent real estate gazettes on the Polish market. The quality continues to improve year on year, not only in terms of its graphics but the articles as well.
The days when I had to give Ernest a call and tell him off because of a misspelling are long gone. Eurobuild today is a well-run company striving to provide its readers and clients with up-to-date news and through their variety of conferences a platform for education and integration. All in all probably the best thing that ever happened to Eurobuild is Ernest’s affinity for golf – and my feeling is that a clear pattern has become evident: the more he plays, the better the gazette does. Joking aside, a big bravo and congratulations to Ernest and the entire Eurobuild team!
Maciej Mazur, president of the board, Mallson
Going back to my article eleven years ago – as can be seen in the photograph – we have changed “a little” as far as looks are concerned and it could be said that we have one thing in common with Eurobuild: we are all a little fatter. Unfortunately, it is a good thing only in your case... However, having re-read that interview, we can say that we were consistent inin focusing our specialisation on the retail property market. Admittedly, a few years later the Lambert Smith Hampton brand, which we operated under at that time, disappeared from the market, but it was replaced by two companies, which, as it seems to me, have built a strong brand on the Polish retail property market.
Wojciech Cieślak successfully runs Boig and I, having sold my shares in LSH, established Mallson, which was responsible for the commercial concepts and lease of a few dozen retail projects across Poland. Their total area is more than 0.5 mln sqm and the number of stores leased exceeds 2,000. We currently have around twenty new projects, both shopping centres and retail parks. So we can probably risk saying that Mallson and Boig, despite competing against larger international chain agencies, have managed to establish a considerable position on the retail management market. In spite of that I hope that this article will not be entitled ‘Old Faces’. Eurobuild does not have this problem: the older it gets, the prettier and more modern it is. Apart from increasing the quality of its graphics and content, as well as providing comprehensive and up-to-date knowledge about the wider real estate market, the thing I like most is its credibility and avoidance of the temptations of aggressively promoting the largest advertisers in editorial texts – a trend that is more and more evident in trade media and, unfortunately, is done at the expense of the quality and reliability of the information provided. So happy anniversary to the whole team and I wish the magazine another 1,000 issues!
Jeroen van der Toolen, managing director for the CEE, Ghelamco
The Eurobuild cover of March 2005 showed that Ghelamco’s time had come. The title was the ‘The Midas touch. Is there more to come from Ghelamco?’ Yes a lot came and will come, including the 220m high Warsaw Spire and Plac Europejski – new landmarks of Warsaw. Ten years ago it was hard to imagine that the capital would change that much. During all these years Eurobuild has closely followed the development of the real estate market in the CEE region and accompanied developers in their activities. From a niche magazine, Eurobuild grew into a leading business title. Congratulations to the entire team and we wish you hundreds more covers to come!
Alan Colquhoun, head of Central & Eastern Europe, DTZ
From the day I arrived in 1999, Eurobuild was a vital source of information about what was going on, which projects where being delivered and who was actually who. Among the other English language publications that were around then, some are no longer with us, but Eurobuild still is – and I think that says it all. And in fact, when you look at Eurobuild today and look at the quality of its presentation and content, I think it has gone from strength to strength.
Renata Osiecka, managing partner, Axi Immo
The Polish commercial real estate market, including the industrial market, has undergone some dynamic changes over the years. In 2005 the first few projects were developed on regional markets such as Poznań, Upper Silesia and Wrocław – and now we have a warehouse and production area of over 1 mln sqm in each of these regions. Ten years ago a sale & leaseback transaction was something new for the industrial sector, which was very rare in Central and Eastern Europe. The sector was outside the main area of interest for the emerging investment sector. Nowadays industrial projects are an equal and desirable investment product, often enjoying more interest than the office or retail sector. Sale & leaseback transactions are popular and the products on offer for such investment is quite broad. Yields for industrial projects are not as impressive as they were ten years ago, but they remain the highest among all the commercial property sectors. More importantly, according to investors the attractiveness of the sector and the security of transactions has increased considerably. In the last decade market players have gained experience and business maturity while carrying out their projects. For me personally, the establishment of Axi Immo, which took place six years ago, was a turning point and a challenge at the same time. I am glad that we are successfully carrying out the latest ambitious projects for our clients. Many things are different now, but some, like Eurobuild remain unchanged, raising and commenting on the most important topics for the real estate market every month.
Sven von der Heyden, president of the board, Von der Heyden Group
Eurobuild means professionalism and unbiased reports on property. I cannot recollect any article in particular, because I have read so many of them. Eurobuild is an indispensable source of information on the latest events on the Polish property market. I start every visit to Poland in my office by reading Eurobuild. It is also one of the few magazines I take back with me, if I don’t manage to read it all. I guess I must have a soft spot for you! I think both the articles published by you and the conferences and business events you organise are of a high level of quality and, at the same time, remain unbiased, in spite of the fact that everything has become so commercialised these days. Not only do you describe the events taking place on the market, but you also create the market and engage the greatest personalities. The fact that today you are celebrating your 200th issue is the best proof of this!
Daniel Bienias, senior director – head of tenant representation, Office Agency, CBRE
Eurobuild, which has also undergone several changes, has been with us through all these years. But changes for the better, of course. Your position as a leading and influential monthly for the sector has not changed, but your volume has, and it is growing together with the market. I appreciate you for keeping up such a high standard, being sensitive to the trends on the market, and for more articles about new technology and the lifestyle section. I am absolutely in favour of your initiative to organise sporting events, which integrate the business in an interesting way and have the competitive element we like so much. I will keep my fingers crossed and hope you maintain in future issues the same quality and that property will permanently remain the passion of the whole editorial team.
Maciej Dyjas, co-managing partner, Griffin Group; president of supervisory board, EM&F; previously CEO of Eastbridge Group
As property is my area of business activity, Eurobuild magazine has been an invaluable source of information on commercial property in Poland and in the CEE region for years, including both current events and specialist analyses of the market. Eurobuild is one the oldest professional titles on the scene and has thoroughly documented the key stages in the development of the real estate market and its sectors, including the retail property market. We first had the opportunity to cooperate years ago, when under the name of Eastbridge Group and EM&F Group we were introducing European lifestyle brands into Poland, including fashion brands such as Zara, Esprit, Wallis, River Island and Hugo Boss, among others, or cosmetics brands (Chanel, Dior, Clarins, etc.), while at the same time accelerating the development of popular Polish brands, such as Empik and Smyk. What makes me happy the most is the fact, noted by Eurobuild, that international investors now have positive perceptions of Poland and are seeing our real estate market as part of the EU, rather than as in Eastern Europe. Offices, retail and residential are now large segments – and the turnover in these markets is dynamic, so in each of them you can carry out a big number of projects and build an investment portfolio. That is our plan at Griffin RE and we hope that ‘Eurobuild CEE’ will accompany us in the exciting years ahead of us.
