Investment Deal of the Year, CEE

The award is open to any investment deal closed in Central & Eastern Europe between October 2019 and September 2020.

Category Sponsor

Nominees

Acquisition of 46.5% stake in European Logistics Investment

In January 2020, a 46.5% equity stake in European Logistics Investment platform (“ELI”), a ca. €500 million Polish real estate portfolio was acquired by Madison International Realty from majority owner Redefine Properties. The platform, was set up and co-managed by the co-investor Griffin Real Estate, that has a key role in identifying the right partner for ELI to further capitalize on logistic real estate and attracting the new investor. As part of the transaction, Madison agreed to provide a €150 million commitment to ELI, of which €83.7 million was used to acquire a 46.5% interest in the existing assets and developments in progress while leaving an obligation of €66.3 million to expand the portfolio over the next years. The transaction was Madison’s first major logistics acquisition in Europe as it looks to increase its exposure to the asset class. According to the business plan for expansion of ELI to become the leading Polish logistic platform, the parties, together with the majority owner Redefine Properties Limited, a leading South-African based Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), aim to further grow the portfolio over the next years.

Acquisition of a majority stake in Polnord SA by Cordia International Zrt.

In 2020, as part of its international expansion strategy, Hungary-based Cordia International Zrt. acquired a majority equity stake (92,92%) in the Warsaw listed Polish residential developer Polnord SA. The transaction mainly involved: (1) the subscription for the newly issued Series T shares in Polnord SA, which represented approximately 65.66% of all of the shares in the company (including the newly issued shares); and (2) the acquisition of approximately 27.26% of the shares in the company within a tender offer for all of the remaining shares in Polnord. The tender offer was settled on 9 April 2020. The aggregate value of the transaction was approximately PLN 230.5 million (EUR 52.6 million). Importantly, Cordia has already recorded PLN 192.4 million (€42.2 million) of profits from the recent takeover.

AFI EUROPE

AFI Europe is part of AFI Properties, one of the leading real estate development, management and investment companies, operating in Central and Eastern Europe since 1997. AFI Europe’s diversified portfolio consists of shopping centers, business parks and large-scale residential and mixed-use developments. The group operates in Romania, Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary and Latvia. In 2020 AFI EUROPE finalized the acquisition transaction of NEPI’s Rockcastle office portfolio in Romania with a total GLA of 118,500 sqm and worth EURO 290 Million. This acquisition is fully in line with AFI Europe’s strategy of expanding the operations in Romania with focus on yielding properties. The acquired portfolio consists of 4 Class A office projects totalizing 8 office buildings situated in Bucharest and Timisoara:  AFI Park Floreasca, located at 169 Calea Floreasca, Bucharest, with 36,470 square meters GLA;  AFI Lakeview, located at 301-311 Barbu Vacarescu St, with 25,907 square meters GLA;  AFI Victoriei Plaza (ex-known as Aviatorialor 8), located at 8A Aviatorilor Blvd., Bucharest, with 8,203 square meters GLA;  AFI Park Timisoara (ex-known as Timisoara City Business Center), located at 10 Coriolan Brediceanu St, Timisoara, with 47,936 square meters GLA. After this transaction and the completion of ongoing office developments (AFI Tech Park 2-3), AFI Europe Romania will have under management close to 300,000 sqm GLA office spaces, becoming one of the top 3 largest office owners in Romania.

Aquisition of ECHO shares

In December 2019, WING has acquired a 100% stake in Lisala, which in turn owns a 56 % stake in ECHO Investment, a company listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE). Echo Investment is the largest Polish property development company and the only one with extensive experience across the entire range of residential, retail and office segments. Already the market leader in Poland in both the office and retail segments, the company has been strengthening its residential property market portfolio as well. With the transaction complete, WING Group has become a majority owner of Echo Investment. In March 2020 WING acquired a further 10,04% shares of Echo. As a result, WING has increased its stake in Echo Investment to 66% from 55,96%. As the main shareholder, WING intends to keep the company listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange and continue its development in line with the current strategy. Both companies will be operationally independent.

Ares Management and Griffin Real Estate acquire majority stake in Murapol

Griffin Real Estate, in joint venture with a fund managed by the Real Estate Group of Ares Management Corporation, acquired a 98.04% stake in Murapol SA – one of the most active residential developers in Poland, having sold nearly 3,700 apartments in 2019 and 2,140 in Q1-Q3 2020. With a highly-integrated value chain, Murapol is focused on delivering affordable units to a broad segment of the Polish residential market throughout the country’s largest cities. Murapol Group has been operating in the multi-family housing sector for 19 years, making 66 investments at that time, with nearly 300 buildings and more than 17,300 apartments inhabited by more than 52,000 people. The Company has a business model that is unique in the industry and a rich portfolio of projects under construction and under various stages of preparation. In 2019, the Murapol signed contracts for the sale of nearly 3,700 apartments. The portfolio of projects under construction within the Murapol Group as at the end of 2019 consisted of more than 6,850 apartments with a total usable area of approximately 300,000 square meters, located in 57 buildings as part of 21 investment projects all over Poland. In addition, Murapol has a rich land bank that will enable the company to deliver nearly 17, 700 new units in the future. From January to September 2020, Murapol Group delivered a total of 2,480 flats, including 1,391 from July to September, delivering the highest number of apartments on the Polish market from all the developer companies. The results are more than 60% better than in Q1-Q3 2019. The company also expanded the land bank and explored potential of the online channel by introducing, as the first developer company in Poland, on-line reservations and meetings with customers.

Divestment of the Generation Park Z office building in Warsaw to Deka Immobilien

Generation Park Z is part of the Generation Park modern office complex located in the heart of Warsaw, in one of the most desirable and fastest growing Warsaw city centre locations. The three-building complex offers ca. 87,000 sqm and benefits from very good transportation options including the second metro line, trams and buses in the immediate proximity to the Daszyńskiego Roundabout. Generation Park Z is fully leased to Vistra and Crido, among others. The property comprises a total leasable area of approx. 19,000 sqm and 110 underground parking places for cars, as well as 102 for bikes. It offers convenient infrastructure for cyclists and runners, including showers and changing rooms. Common areas in Generation Park Z consist of many elements such as a tree in the main lobby or a mural inside the garage entrance. The property offers amenities – a restaurant and coffee shops. It also has a terrace on the 13th floor with a lot of greenery, which provides an excellent view on the neighborhood and is a great place to relax, work, organize company events or fitness activities. Generation Park Z provides easy access to the office complex patio, which includes green areas with a garden café, meeting points or bike infrastructure. The pavement on the patio and around the building is an innovative “green concrete”, which cleans the air of toxic compounds from car exhausts. The building is equipped with Connected by Skanska which facilitates daily office management. Thanks to the adapted touch-less solutions, it enables users to move around the building using their smartphone instead of traditional access cards, and provides a virtual reception. The building features a parking system that will recognize license plates and allocate available spaces. Generation Park Z has been LEED Platinum pre-certified and is applying for WELL certification. It was designed in accordance to the Building without Barriers certificate.

Elite Partners Capital Mszczonów

Advising Elite Partners Capital on the purchase of five warehouse buildings covering a combined area of more than 200,000 sq. m located in a logistics park situated in a fast developing logistics centre on the south-west of Warsaw, the largest logistics transaction so far this year We have subsequently advised Elite on another acquisition of a warehouse building located in the same park in Mszczonów, which is fully leased by PepsiCo. With this transaction, Elite has increased its presence in the park to six buildings with a total area of over 260,000 sq. m. This forms part of the approximately 420,000 sq. m of logistics assets which Elite Partners Capital has secured in the past year.

GLP’s acquisition of the CEE’s logistics portfolio for EUR 1 billion.

In July 2020, GLP closed on the acquisition of Goodman Group’s Central and Eastern Europe logistics real estate portfolio. The addition of 48 high-quality buildings spread across Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, and totalling approx. 1.3 million sq m (plus 1.1 million sq m in the pipeline), has expanded GLP’s European presence to 16 countries, placing it within a select number of logistics real estate investors with a truly pan-European platform. The acquired CEE portfolio is concentrated on key logistics routes across the region with access to growing markets for e-commerce and distribution. It brings a number of new customers into the business and allows it to better support existing customers with their expanding supply chain requirements across Europe. All GLP projects in Central and Eastern Europe are located within or in the immediate vicinity of capital cities: Warsaw, Prague, Bratislava and Budapest, as well as other major urban hubs such as Gdańsk, Poznań, Wrocław, Brno or Ostrava. These locations ensure excellent access to the international and national transport network and, by extension, to end consumers. In addition, the buildings themselves offer many solutions that make them stand out in a competitive market in terms of functionality, employee well-being and sustainability. These include an above-standard height of the buildings and size of the docking zones; daylighting with additional skylights in the ceiling; advanced lighting control systems, and electronic utility metering. The new buildings can be powered by renewable energy (with an option to install rooftop PV panels) and are provided with EV charging stations while greywater is reused to irrigate vegetation grown around the buildings.

Implementation of the CPIPG Strategy – acquisition of nine high-quality office buildings located in Warsaw that meet environmental and location standards, with the possibility of their further development and value enhancement.

In the autumn of 2019, CPIPG announced an investment strategy for Poland focused on the acquisition of high-quality office buildings located in Warsaw that meet environmental and location standards, with the possibility of their further development and value enhancement. Till the end of Q3 of 2020,9 office buildings with total are 245,000 sqm had been purchased. The portfolio includes office buildings located in the very center of Warsaw - Warsaw Financial Center, Moniuszki 1A, Chałubińskiego 8 (purchase of 50.3% of shares), in the corridor of Aleje Jerozolimskie - Eurocentrum Office Complex and Equator I, Equator II and Equator IV, as well as office buildings on the border of Śródmieście and Wola - Green Corner A and Concept Tower. All the purchased office buildings had ecological certificates or certification took place during the ownership management by CPIPG. Two largest transactions ¬– the acquisitions of the Warsaw Financial Center and Eurocentrum Office Complex, had bed executed in three months (total GLA of 135,000 sqm). The acquisition process was carried out in the following order and the following office buildings were purchased: 1. Eurocentrum Office Complex – acquisition: November 2019. 2. Equator IV – acquisition: November 2019. 3. Warsaw Financial Center – acquisition: December 2019. 4. Equator II – acquisition: January 2020. 5. Green Corner A – acquisition: January 2020. 6. Equator I – acquisition: March 2020. 7. Moniuszki 1A – acquisition: March 2020. 8. Chałubińskiego 8 – acquisition: April 2020. CPIPG purchased 50.3% of shares in the building. 9. Concept Tower – acquisition: August 2020.

KöKi Terminal Shopping Center Budapest

KÖKI TERMINAL is strategically situated at the Kőbánya-Kispest junction of the Hungarian capital, which is one of the most important intermodal hubs, serving the X. XIX and XVII. districts of Budapest. The hub is reinforced by subway, train, bus and tram connections and also seated on the route leading to the Airport and M0 ring road. The shopping center (completed in 2011) is composed of 60,000 sqm retail and 6,000+ sqm office space across 4 storeys. Anchor tenants include OBI, Tesco, Müller, H&M, C&A, Euronics and Hervis.

Legnica Airport Park / Panattoni Park Legnica

At the beginning of 2020, Accolade has decided to invest in new region in Poland, into new industrial park in Legnica. The project involves the construction of nearly 93,000 m2 of warehouse and production space in four stages. The first was completed during the summer and the estimated value of the whole project is EUR 57.42 million. Due to the new park project in Legnica, built on the revitalized pre-war airship base, the company's brownfield portfolio in Poland will be increased by up to 53%. The modern sustainable complex also aims to be awarded the BREEAM certification at a minimum level "Very Good". The location in the Lower Silesian Voivodship, one of the most industrialized and urbanized regions in Central and Eastern Europe, availability of a qualified workforce, and the proximity to the A4 motorway, Germany, and Czech borders. That makes Legnica a very attractive location for logistics companies, distributors, and manufacturing companies. Recent months have made it clear that it is these sectors that are keeping the European economy going in every situation and the infrastructure needed for the sustainable development of Europe's regions. This development is supported by the Accolade Group with its investments. And Legnica is great case/example. In the regions where the company operates, tries to be the best neighbor, providing people with better infrastructure, creating better-paid jobs than is an average in the region, and increase the attractiveness of the place. All of this is also proved by the first tenants that will make presence in the park. The technological leader in the software solutions for construction markets MiTek and e-commerce wear distributor and manufacturer Spreadshirt. The whole project is designed to bring a lot of economic power to the local micro-market and has the goal to be one of the key pillars for the further development and modernization of the whole business environment around the Legnica city and surrounding cities.

Panattoni 5 logistics parks totalling 280,000 sqm to an Asian investor

The parks occupy strategic locations in Poland – Warsaw (Panattoni Park Warsaw North, Panattoni Park Warsaw South), Silesia (Panattoni Park Silesia I), Poznan (Panattoni Park Poznań VIII) and Szczecin (Panattoni Park Szczecin II). Following the transaction, Panattoni stays on as the facility manager at all the properties included in the portfolio.

Sale of D48 (office building, Warsaw)

D48, a modern A-class office building in Warsaw’s Mokotów district, was commissioned in August 2017. The L-shape building consists of two wings with a height of 11 and 8 floors and a total area of 26 173 sq m, of which 24 312 sq m occupy office, and 1 861 sq m commercial part. Bus and tram stops, SKM fast city rail, airport and S79 expressway are in close proximity to the property.

The acquisition of a Central Distribution Centre leased to Leroy Merlin in Piątek

In April 2020 Savills Investment Management has completed the acquisition of a Central Distribution Centre leased to Leroy Merlin in Piątek from Invesco Real Estate. The asset of ca.123,000 sq m is located ca.40km north of Lodz, which constitutes Poland’s prime central logistics location. Leroy Merlin have consolidated their Polish logistics operations into the unit and have committed to occupy the building for 10 years. Leroy Merlin Distribution Centre in Piątek is the largest single storey build-to-suit logistics facility developed in Poland to date, according to Panattoni (data as October 2019).

Jury

Agata Sekuła
Vice-President of the Management Board
JLL
Andrzej Wroński
Group Head of Asset Management
P3 Logistic Parks Sp. z o.o.
Andrzej Chełchowski
Partner
MILLER CANFIELD
Anna Celichowska
Board Member | Rental Director
VIRAKO SP. Z O.O.
Anna Wyrzykowska
partner, advocate
WKB Wierciński, Kwieciński, Baehr Sp.k.
Antoine Mocachen
Managing Director CEE
Multi Poland Sp. z o.o.
Antoni Malec
Managing Partner
Harmond Capital Partners
Bartłomiej Kordeczka
Partner
DENTONS
Bartosz Clemenz
Counsel
Hogan Lovells (Warszawa) LLP Oddział w Polsce
Bartosz Mierzwiak
Managing Director CEE & Northen Europe
Logicor
Dieter Knittel
Head of CEE
pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank
Dominik Stojek
Partner Associate
Deloitte
Dominik Włodarczyk
Senior Engineer
Sweco Consulting Sp.z.o.o.
Dorota Malinowska
Partner
Pro Value Sp. z o.o.
Grzegorz Mroczek
Vice-president
CREAM
Grzegorz Trawiński
Head of Real Estate Finance Department
mBank SA
HUBERT MAŃTURZYK
GENERAL MANAGER POLAND
Aareal Bank AG
Janusz Dzianachowski
Partner
Linklaters C.Wiśniewski i Wspólnicy
Jolanta Nowakowska-Zimoch
Partner, Head of Real Estate in Poland
Greenberg Traurig Grzesiak sp.k.
Justyna Kedzierska-Klukowska
Head of Warsaw Office
Berlin Hyp AG
Katarzyna Dąbrowska
Expansion&Investment Director
Vision Express
Maciej Wójcik
MANAGING PARTNER OF TDJ ESTATE
TDJ Estate
Martin Erbe
Managing Director
Helaba
Michal Muc
Managing Director CEE
Ceres Management Services
Paul Kuśmierz
CEO
Master Management Sp. Z o. o.
Paweł Nowakowski
Head of Capital Markets, MRICS
Cresa Polska Sp. z o.o.
Piotr Fedorowicz
Partner
Rymarz Zdort
Przemysław Felicki
Head of Investment Properties Team
CBRE
Rafał Gierczak
Head of Asset Management
Ghelamco Poland
Renata Osiecka
Managing Partner
Axi Immo Group
Roger Dunlop
CEO
Avestus Real Estate
Sebastian Proć
Member of the Board, Country Development Director
HB Reavis Poland
Sebastian Stępniowski
Business Development Director
Spectra Development
Tomasz Lubowiecki
Prezes Zarządu
7R SA
Wojciech Koczara
Partner
CMS
Wojciech Sztuba
Managing Partner
TPA Poland
Yovav Carmi
President of the Management Board
Globe Trade Centre (GTC)

Main Sponsor

Star Sponsor