POLAND NREP adds beds to Polish sheds

The transaction between Finnish developer YIT and NREP includes 1,071 flats that will be built for rent in four projects in Warsaw. Two buildings are already under construction: 116 apartments in the second stage of Parkur Residence in Ursynów district, a project which started in December 2020 and is being constructed by Kalter, as well as 97 apartments and 2 service units in the first stage of Nordic Bemowo, which FBI Tasbud has been building since March 2021. The other projects are the two stages of Smartti Mokotów YIT at the junction of ul. Postępu and ul. Domaniewska, where 280 co-living units are to be built in the first stage. Construction work is scheduled to begin at the end of the summer. In the second stage, due to begin in Q4 2021, 578 residential units will be built.

Our ambition is to make real estate more innovative, environmentally friendly and resident-friendly. We note that supply in the Polish real estate market is lagging behind high and strong economic growth. Additionally, demographic processes will further increase this dissonance. Today, in Finland, Sweden and Denmark, about 30-40 pct of people rent, while in Poland this percentage is only 15. We believe that this trend will also increase in Poland. We want to help make it a transformation in which we do not forget about the customers to whom this offer will be addressed. Three out of four houses in Poland today were built before 1989. I am convinced that in Poland, the demand for high quality homes with a greater emphasis on customer needs and ecnvironmental solutions will gradually grow in the coming years, especially in the area of private renting.
Claus Mathisen, the CEO of NREP

Poland is the first market outside Scandinavia that NREP has entered. In April it was announced that it had completed the acquisition of a 98.9 pct stake of Kraków-based BIK, which has a 130,000 sqm logistics portfolio, and that it would buy all outstanding shares and withdraw the developer from the Warsaw Stock Exchange. In a few weeks it plans to have opened its Polish office.

Last year NREP raised EUR 2 bln for new investment for its Nordic Strategies Fund IV, which invests in residential real estate for rent, nursing homes, offices and modern logistics in Scandinavian countries. It was also this fund that was behind the acquisition of BIK. In addition, in March this year, NREP raised a further EUR 900 mln for its new semi-open NREP Income+ fund, which aims to make long-term investments in residential buildings, offices, modern logistics and social infrastructure.