To invest or not to invest?

This was something I heard someone say at MIPIM. The remark seemed to express such a profound truth that I regret not having come up with it myself. It was uttered by the city of Łódź’s representative responsible for relations with investors, many of whom, in his experience, seem to act as though they have found themselves on the horns of a Shakespearean dilemma. And this is the case not only for his city but for our entire country. Even though the hard numbers usually win the day, sometimes emotions and moods can have a stronger impact on their decision-making. However, such prevarication is not something that could be ascribed to a few people we’ve spoken to for this issue. The representatives of Griffin we talked to – not only about their recent acquisition of Echo, but also their role in setting up the first few REITs on Polish soil (‘Shape-shifting Griffin’) – come nowhere near emulating the Dane in terms of indecisiveness. But it’s still the case that Reino Partners, JLL and others on the market and the Warsaw Stock Exchange are still waiting for REITs ’to be’ in Poland (‘REIT here, REIT now?’). Jozef Oravkin of Penta Investments, who provides details of the company’s first few office projects in Warsaw (‘Time to cross the Tatras) is not one for existential soliloquies either. But the list of hamletising investors as well as those which have chosen ‘to be’ in Poland is much longer – and they should all visit Warsaw, if only to see the latest production of ‘Hamlet’ by Teatr Współczesny, which actually does come into being in the second half of April.