Advised by Cushman & Wakefield Healey & Baker's Polish office, GE Commercial Finance
Real Estate Central Europe has completed the acquisition of a prime logistics warehouse in
Poznan, Poland, for a purchase price of approximately €12m from Dutch developer Grontmij Real
Estate International (GREI).
The newly constructed building comprises approximately 20,000 sq m of flexible class A
warehouse space and 4,795 sq m of office accommodation. It will be completed and ready for
occupation by November 2005. The entire space has been let on a long-term lease to EuroCash,
the Polish-based food and home goods distributor.
The property is situated at the south-west edge of Poznan and will form part of a
high-quality Logistics Centre, 'Tulipan Park', which will be developed by GREI in the near
future. The Logistics Centre will benefit from unique multi-modal transport connections; in
addition to its close proximity to Poznan's international airport and the city ring road, the
Centre is located directly adjacent to, and with excellent visibility from, the A-2 highway
leading from Berlin to Warsaw.
Commenting on the transaction, Karim Habra, Managing Director of GE Commercial Finance Real
Estate Central Europe, said: "We are delighted to have acquired this well-located asset
with a strong local tenant already identified. GREI has developed the property to a high
specification with a flexible design to meet the demands of EuroCash and thereby created the
sort of asset that is highly sought after by investors.
"This acquisition clearly demonstrates our commitment to the Polish market, and further
illustrates our intention to grow our presence in the Central European region."
Rick van Heumen, Managing Director of Grontmij Real Estate International stated: "We
are very pleased to have been in a position to actually share our strong belief in the Polish
real estate market with GE, an experienced investor, by means of finalising the purchase
contract. In doing so, GE has acquired a key asset which we believe will stand the test of
time."
Ferdinand Hlobil, Head of Industrial for Central Europe of Cushman & Wakefield Healey
& Baker, said: "Since Poland joined the European Union, Poznan has become a magnet for
occupiers, developers and investors operating in the logistics market. Together with the Polish
city of Wroclaw and Pilsen in the Czech Republic, Poznan is benefiting from its close proximity
to the German border, and from being positioned on the main highway routes between Western and
Central & Eastern Europe, one of the world's most dynamic economic areas."