Department head or senior representative in Poland, real estate
Piotr Szafarz, Head of Real Estate in Poland and CEE
Department head or senior representative profile
Piotr is a top real estate lawyer in Poland advising key institutional investors and developers from the retail, warehouse, office and PRS sectors. A lead counsel on the largest transaction completed to date in the living sector in Poland and the largest retail transactions in CEE. In November 2020 he was appointed Head of the Real Estate in CEE, focusing on business strategy, strong relationships with clients and strengthening the leadership position of the practice group on the market.
Key current clients
Skanska, Atrium European Real Estate, EPP, Savills Investment Management, Ghelamco, P3 Logistic Parks, Hines, Starwood Capital Group, SEGRO, HB Reavis, Patrizia, Kajima, Cavatina Holding, Develia, Heimstaden Bostad, Nexity Polska, BentallGreenOak, Deka Immobilien, Futureal Group, REINO Partners, MARK, Palmira Capital Partners, PAREF Gestion, CPI Property Group, White Star Real Estate.
Participation in property sales and acquisitions between October 2020 and June 2022
Dentons advised among others:
- Ghelamco on the €583m sale to Google Poland of two towers of the Warsaw HUB complex, the most technologically advanced building in Poland to serve as its largest cloud technology development center in Europe.
- Skanska on the largest office investment in CEE - the €285m sale of the Generation Park Y office building to Hansainvest Real Assets.
- Redefine Properties and EPP on the establishment of two JVs, which will manage a portfolio of 22 retail and 3 office properties. The combined GAV brought into the JV makes it one of the largest investments in retail sector ever completed in this segment in Poland.
- Cornerstone on the largest real estate transaction in CEE since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic - the acquisition of 100% of shares in Budimex Nieruchomości.
- Heimstaden on 4 investment transactions, involving the acquisition of 19 BTR projects worth €510m.
Participation in development projects between October 2020 and June 2022
Dentons real estate development team advised:
- Virako on the first and second phases of development of the “Monopolis”, a unique commercial, entertainment and office project developed in the center of Łódź.
- Hines on construction aspects of a logistics project in Gdańsk.
- Data4 Group on development of a data center project in Jawczyce, near Warsaw.
- POC Partners on the first and second phases of the prestigious Marina Royale residential complex in Darłówko (Baltic coast).
- Goldman Sachs on the fit-out project for the expansion of its HQ in Poland – office space leased by the client in the Warsaw Spire office complex in Warsaw, the highest office tower in Poland.
- Inopa on the fit-out works for the Citibank space in Centaurus complex, the highest multifunctional building in Olsztyn where Citibank Europe set up one of the group’s largest shared services centers in the world.
Total value of the transactions on which your company advised between October 2020 and June 2022 (in EUR)
€5.8 billion - aggregate value of 81 major property sales and acquisitions on which Dentons advised between October 2020 and June 2022 (most publicly announced).
Please say why you should be considered for the award
Even though the commercial real estate market underwent turbulence due to the 2020 lockdown and post-pandemic difficulties throughout most of 2021, our Real Estate team was very active and noted historic, record-breaking results:
- 128% growth in completed transactions in the logistics sector in 2020 compared to 2019,
- €3.6 billion worth investment deals which Dentons advised on in 2021, 55% market share by deal value.
Despite the war in Ukraine, the Polish investment market recorded the third best year opening since 2016. In Q1 2022, Dentons advised on three mega deals, which represented 75% of total volume transacted in this period in Poland, including:
• Google’s purchase of The Warsaw Hub,
• the establishment of two joint ventures encompassing EPP portfolios in two separate projects.
This reaffirms our leading market position and confirms Dentons’ ability to manage most demanding projects, even in highly challenging times.
Company website
www.dentons.com