The labor market experts at Antal have come together with Cushman & Wakefield and Vastint, who contributed their knowledge of infrastructure and real estate, to prepare the second edition of the Business Environment Assessment Study (BEAS) series of reports detailing the investment potential of eight Polish cities. The reports are a valuable reference for investors who are planning to grow their business and start new projects.
Poland continues to establish itself as a prime destination for investment in the CEE region. According to data published by OECD in April of 2019, FDIs grew by 20 percent since last year and now stand at 10.7 billion dollars. “Companies with ample capital are looking for partners in Poland who could provide them with valuable experience, market knowledge and assistance in choosing the right destination for investment,” said Artur Skiba, Chairman of Antal. “We have decided to join forces with industry leaders to attract investors to Poland.”
The BEAS reports provide a broad and comprehensive overview of the business environment in eight Polish cities, Warsaw, Wrocław, Poznań, Łódź, Tri-City, Kraków, Szczecin and Lublin, accompanied by hard market data on the investment potential of each city. The methodology used consists of the following:
a subjective assessment provided by chairmen, members of the board and department directors of companies operating in the Polish market. an analysis of eight factors that make cities more attractive and contribute to their investment potential. Those factors include: infrastructure, labor market indices, educational potential, quality of living and public administration support. Respondents were asked to rate the quality of the business environment in their cities on a scale of 1 to 10.
an analysis of hard market data collected by Antal, Cushman & Wakefield ABSL, Forbes, CBRE, the Central Statistical Office of Poland, the 500 List of the Polityka weekly, BISNODE, National Bank of Poland and Investinpomerania.pl. The reports provide detailed information concerning living costs, office rents and salaries, among others, in each city.
The reports are a sort of “Investor’s Guide”, detailing the specific regions, providing an assessment of their business environments and first-hand opinions of individuals who have already invested in Poland.
Labor market
“The series of reports on the biggest Polish cities was released to answer the most common questions posed by companies that are already doing business in Poland and considering further growth as well as prospective investors who see Poland as a destination for future business projects. It is worth noting that different organizations have different needs and preferences, therefore choosing the right location will require assessing numerous factors, including economic indices. Some businesses will focus on finding locations with the lowest-possible costs of doing business, whereas others may look for areas where finding niche qualifications will not be a problem. That is why our reports include subjective assessments coupled with hard market data,” emphasises Agnieszka Wójcik, Antal Market Research Manager, who launched the initiative.
Real estate
“Poland has long been listed among the most attractive destinations for investors in the world’s most prestigious rankings. Warsaw, the country’s biggest office market, is a perfect example of that trend with several multinational financial corporations deciding to open their premises in the city in recent years. Kraków and Wrocław, on the other hand, are viewed as a prime location for companies that operate business services centers. The most important factors that attract foreign businesses to Poland include: numerous business support institutions, plenty of qualified candidates with foreign language skills, slightly lower living costs and, more importantly, a highly developed pipeline with modern offices in almost all regional cities. By collaborating on the BEAS project we wanted to develop a set of best practices for representatives of diverse industries that are often correlated. By presenting reports for individual cities we wanted to demonstrate that both domestic and foreign companies want to grow their business in Poland and are looking for suitable locations to do so. This is plainly evidenced by last year’s record-breaking demand for offices,” said Krzysztof Misiak, International Partner, Office Space Director at Cushman & Wakefield.
“The future looks bright for the office market. The total supply of office space in Warsaw and Poland’s regional cities is estimated to be approximately 10 million square metres, making Poland the CEE leader and one of Europe’s fastest-growing markets. It is worth noting that demand for offices in leading regional cities is growing due mainly to the expansion of business services companies. The BPO, SSC, IT and R&D industry generated almost 60% of last year’s demand for offices in local markets (outside of Warsaw) and 30 percent in all markets. The industry’s ongoing growth means that we will continue building new offices in regional cities. We expect that Warsaw’s market will also enjoy growing demand in the coming years, and the high demand in regional cities generated by the business services industries will not drop off. Poland is Vastint Group’s biggest market in Europe. Polish properties make up 36% of our total lease space. We believe in the enormous potential of the Polish real estate market and it was with great pleasure that we contributed to the BEAS project,” said Radosław Kostka, Acquisition Manager, Vastint Polska.
About the report
The Antal Business Environment Assessment Study was conducted between 2017-2019 on a sample of 588 decision-makers, holding the positions of CEOs, members of the board and department directors in companies present in Poland. The study was conducted using the CATI and CAWI methods. The report was supplemented with the data of Antal, Cushman & Wakefield, Vastint, ABSL, GUS, BISNODE, Forbes, NBP.
