Echo plans further offensives after Q1 results

According to a company statement, the value of its residential and commercial projects under construction increased by 13 pct in Q1 and the value of the group’s assets came to almost PLN 4.4 bln.

“We are maintaining a stable financial position and a low net debt ratio, which amounted to 25 pct on March 31st, 2019. We are pleased that financial institutions have confidence in us, as since the beginning of the year they have granted us investment loans for the construction of two office projects and have invested in PLN 100 mln of our bonds. We are maintaining high reserve of cash – PLN 471 mln at the end of Q1. And we are also improving the structure of our debt so that our financial flows are stable in the long run,” insists Maciej Drozd, the deputy CEO of Echo Investment for financial affairs.

The company is now focused on building mixed-use and comprehensive projects in cities. These represent almost half of the company’s projects under construction or preparation.

“All the buildings in our flagship Browary Warszawskie project are at various stages. I can guarantee that this entire quarter, including its streets, public squares, greenery and other public places, will be ready in H2 2020 to be returned to Warsaw and its residents. In Q1 we also started the construction of the Fuzja mixed-use project on ul. Tymienieckiego in Łódź. At the March MIPIM real estate fair in Cannes we also unveiled our plans in another significant quarter of Warsaw – the Towarowa 22 project. We are working on this together with renowned, world-class studio BIG Architects,” says Nicklas Lindberg, the CEO of Echo Investment.

The company’s residential product range is also burgeoning. “We have an appetite for increasing our market share so that we can achieve our sales target of 2,000 apartments in 2020. During the first three months of the year we started the construction of 542 apartments in Poznań and Łódź, and by the end of the year we will be putting around 1,700 more units on the market. We intend to sell around 1,300 units and transfer almost 1,250 apartments to our clients in the current year,” points out Nicklas Lindberg. “Służewiec and the Praga side of Warsaw have become very interesting locations in terms of housing,” adds the head of Echo.

Since the beginning of the year the company has also started the construction of the React office buildings in Łódź and Moje Miejsce II in Warsaw, which will have ​around 32,000 sqm of combined leasable area. By the end of the year the company will start construction projects in Wrocław and Gdańsk. The total area of ​​office buildings on which construction work is to start this year comes to 100,000 sqm. In late May Echo Investment along with affiliate EPP (with a 70 pct stake in the project) also celebrated the opening of Galeria Młociny in Warsaw. In the first four days the mall had a footfall of more than 220,000 people.

“The shopping centre is leased by commercial brands with refreshed or new concepts for their stores. The food and entertainment zone, which covers around 6,000 sqm on the top floor, is also a magnet for customers. We believe that Galeria Młociny will become a place where the residents of Bielany district and of the many commuters who use the Młociny transport hub will like to spend time,” predicts Nicklas Lindberg.

In Q1 2019 Echo Investment purchased development sites in Wrocław, Kraków and Poznań where a total of around 76,000 sqm of office and residential space (could be built. The combined value of these deals amounted to almost PLN 94 mln.

“We are also in advanced negotiations for more than 50 ha of land for future development. It is mostly intended for residences [33.15 ha of the plots – editor’s note],” says the company’s CEO. “We are focusing on Warsaw [37.5 ha of the plots – editor’s note], Kraków and Wrocław. We want to achieve a dominant position in these cities,” insists Nicklas Lindberg.