Jury Awards

Name of company

Sierra Balmain Asset Management

Managing Director or senior representative in Poland

James Turner

Managing Director or senior representative in Poland profile

James Turner, Sierra Balmain Managing Director has spent almost 30 years in the property industry, and prior to establishing his own business in 2003, held various senior roles with Westfield (over a successful 10 year career there), culminating in co-establishing their European business in 1998 in London. James has been directly involved with over 2.7m Sqm of shopping centre assets (worth approximately £8.7 billion (€9.8 billion)), over his career.
James joined the Westfield Group in 1993 and has covered many disciplines including finance, investment, development and leasing and held the responsibility for the management of Westfield’s Australian joint ventures with international investors. In 1999 at the age of 32, James along with Peter Miller, was one of three key Westfield personnel transferred to the UK to spearhead the £6Bn+ assets under management European business, taking responsibility initially for finance, management and leasing. During that time, James took responsibility for both business development and the establishment of the systems and operations for the group.
After leaving Westfield in 2003, James established the Balmain Asset Management Group, a multi-disciplined advisory, management business and operating partner focussed on retail and leisure assets in Central Europe. In 2019 this became Sierra Balmain, a joint venture between James, his 3 partners and the global real estate services business, Sonae Sierra. Sierra Balmain employs 110 people and has been successfully operating in Central Europe for 17 years and has €1.3bn+ assets under management with a wide variety of leading international investors and banks.
James attended Avondale College (Newcastle) completing a Bachelor of Business degree before qualifying as a CPA. Prior to his Westfield career, James worked at Southern Pacific Hotel Corporation in Australia in a senior finance capacity. Over his 30+ year career James has worked in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and executed transactions across Europe, the USA and in Canada.

Short description of the company

Sierra Balmain provides real estate services in polish 16 cities on 20 assets with a combined value of €1.3bn and 1,370 tenants. Sierra Balmain has 145 employees and 19 years of regional experience having successfully provided service to, and executed transactions with, dozens of Europe’s largest and most well-known investors.
The company offers complete service: from development and transaction advisory, through retail space leasing, to property management and administration, as well as expansion – all with the goal of improving the customer experience and increasing the mall’s turnover to ultimately boost its value. Sierra Balmain is a premier services business that brings together the market-leading CEE specialist real estate asset manager and service provider, Balmain Asset Management with the highly regarded and successful international real estate company, Sonae Sierra.

Key current clients

Stage Capital
Tristan Capital Partners
DWS
NEPI Rockcastle
Resolution Property
Caryn Investments

Key projects your company worked on between Julay 2022 and June 2023

• Receiving five new management mandates: Alfa Centrum in Gdańsk 22 000 GLA, Nowy Rynek in Jelenia Góra 24 000 GLA, Galeria nad Jeziorem in Konin 23 000 GLA, Shopping Centre Pasaż Łódzki in Łódź 37 500 GLA, Shopping Centre Osowa in Gdańsk 13 500 GLA
• Deliver clear and coherent development, leasing and marketing strategies for new schemes.
• Introducing further direct services: Sustainability Strategy and Delivery, Architectural and Engineering, Research
• Sale of Galeria Malta Shopping Centre in Poznan (54 000 GLA) to an International Financial Fund– the largest single shopping centre transaction in retail originated and completed in 2021.
• In 2021 carrying out transactions valued at approximately EUR 50 million
• Achieved an average 13.5% of savings in operating costs of all managed properties by 2020
• Rent collection rate at one of the highest levels in the market – 96.4%
• Implementing new entertainment strategies based on the success fee formula; in 2021 ticket sales

Number, size and type of retail projects under management between July 2022 and June 2023

Between Oct 2020 and June 2022, Sierra Balmain provided real estate services in polish 15 cities on 19 assets with a combined area of 570 GLA. 1. Solaris Center, Opole (26,500m2 GLA) 2. Karolinka, Opole (70,000m2 GLA) 3. Pogoria, Dąbrowa Górnicza (37,640m2 GLA) 4. Centrum Handlowe Borek, Wrocław (21,000m2 GLA) 5. Galeria Handlowa Turzyn, Szczecin (12,100m2 GLA) 6. Park Handlowy Arena, Gliwice (21,300m2 GLA) 7.Galeria Dąbrówka, Katowice (20,280m2 GLA) 8.Galeria Panorama, Poznań (26,126m2 GLA) 9. Centrum Galardia, Starachowice (17,600m2 GLA) 10. Europa Centralna, Gliwice (70,000m2 GLA) 11. Nowy Rynek, Jelenia Góra (24,800 m2 GLA) 12. Alfa Gdańsk, Gdynia (21,900 m2 GLA) 13. Galeria EMKA, Koszalin ( 15,300m2 GLA) 14. Galeria ECHO, Radom ( 18,250m2 GLA) 15. Zielone Tarasy, Elbląg (6, 800m2 GLA) 16. Galeria Pomorska, Bydgoszcz (40,000m2 GLA) 17 Galeria nad Jeziorem, Konin (23 000m2 GLA) 18. Shopping Centre Pasaż Łódzki, Łódź (37 500m2 GLA) 19. Shopping Centre Osowa, Gdańsk

Number, size and type of office projects under management between July 2022 and June 2023

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Number, size and type of warehouse projects under management between July 2022 and June 2023

1 LCube, Rzeszów (24 000GLA)

Please say why you should be considered for the award

Considered period was a time of great uncertainty and challenge in the retail industry and not least in the field of retail real estate management. It became necessary to adapt to new conditions brought about by the pandemic as well as display flexibility, creativity and speed in decision-making. Sierra Balmain was able to achieve tangible results, maintaining occupancy alongside sustainable footfall and sales whilst also significantly expanding portfolio under management.

Company website

https://sierrabalmain.com/