Wrocław’s West House 1B changes hands

The companies did not disclose the value of the transaction, which was finalized at the end of February. “We are pleased to have made another purchase. We believe in the Polish real estate market and think about investing in more prime office projects,” said Anna Thomas, the managing director of the GNT group. Opened in 2014, West House 1B offers over 12,000 sqm of office space and is currently 85 pct leased by such tenants as the Netia group, Objectivity Bespoke Software Specialists and Lodestone Management Consultants (the Infosys group). The building has been LEED Gold certified. The project’s leasing agent is Knight Frank.

“The continuous demand for office space from the BPO/SSC sector, the high quality of projects and better than in Warsaw cap rates are among the factors making the Polish regional markets an excellent alternative to the Warsaw investments,” said Jakub Jonkisz, the head of capital markets at Knight Frank, which represented the buyer in the negotiations. Meanwhile JLL represented the seller and the Norton Rose Fulbright and GWW Woźny i Wspólnicy law offices provided legal advice.

“Given the amount of interest and high activity of investors as well as the number of finalized contracts and ongoing negotiations, we expect 2015 to see a record number of concluded office transactions on some of the largest Polish office markets beyond Warsaw,” said Tomasz Puch, director of the capital markets, office and warehouse properties at JLL. Knight Frank will remain the manager of the West House 1B office building. Archicom has been developing the West Forum Business Centre office complex since 2008. The complex is set to ultimately offer app. 80,000 sqm of office space.