Ghelamco builds, leases and sells

The deal is subject to approval from the Polish competition authority. The Warsaw Spire tower, (building A of the complex) on the Rondo Daszyńskiego roundabout in the city’s Wola-Centrum business district, contains app. 71,600 sqm of leasable space, around 65,000 sqm of which is offices, while most of the remainder is retail and service space. The transaction for the 220m office tower will take place through the purchase of holding companies owned by Ghelamco Group, which completed the development in 2016, and Madison International Realty, which bought a 50 pct stake in the property in April 2018. At the time of writing, the acquisition had been approved by Immofinanz’s supervisory board, with the contract expected to be signed shortly, but the required documents had yet to be filed with the anti-trust authority UOKiK. The company also expects the closing of the deal to take place in the next few weeks. Immofinanz will be financing the acquisition through both equity and debt. The 49-storey tower is the tallest office building in Warsaw and is fully-leased to such companies as Goldman Sachs, Samsung, JLL and Mastercard. Expected annual returns from the property based on invoiced rents come to around EUR 19.6 mln. “This transaction represents a strong growth step for Immofinanz. In accordance with our strategy, we first concentrated our portfolio and will now significantly strengthen our standing investments and sustainable earning power with this top property. Warsaw is one of the most promising office markets in our core region due to its rapid growth and favourable economic indicators,” comments Oliver Schumy, Immofinanz’s CEO. Ghelamco has also succeeded in leasing 20,000 sqm of its Warsaw Unit project to insurance company Warta. Eventually the 200m skyscraper, at Rondo Daszyńskiego 1, will comprise a leasable area of 57,000 sqm over 45 floors. The ten-year lease agreement covers the top eleven floors of the building. Ghelamco was represented by JLL during the negotiations, while Warta was advised by CBRE with legal advice from Hogan Lovells. “An office in the Warsaw Unit makes an excellent showcase for a modern, rapidly developing company, which cares about its image and maintaining the highest standards of its workplace. We are pleased that Warta, which is such a recognisable insurance company with a long tradition, has chosen our new project in Warsaw’s Wola district for its new headquarters. This is currently the location where the capital’s business heart beats today,” says Jeroen van der Toolen, the managing director of Ghelamco Poland. The developer has also completed the development of its Big office building at the junction of ul. Kapelanka and ul. Gen. B. Zielińskiego in Kraków. Construction work, by general contractor Budimex, started in July 2017 and took 15 months. The building, which now has an occupancy permit, comprises 10,000 sqm of useable space over four storeys. It also includes a two-level underground car park. The largest tenant in the BREEAM certified building is Bank State Street which has taken space on all four floors. ν