Cornerstone Partners, the corporate and real estate private equity investment manager, together with Crestyl, the Czech real estate developer and investor, a leader in developing mixed-use real estate projects, finalized the acquisition of Poland’s residential developer, Budimex Nieruchomości.
The Budimex Nieruchomości transaction, valued at PLN 1.51 billion, is the largest real estate deal in Central and Eastern Europe since the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic. The signing of a strategic partnership with one of Europe’s leading residential real estate business, Heimstaden Bostad, to acquire 2,500 flats for rent over the next 5-year period, was also announced.
Budimex Nieruchomości is one of the leading Polish residential developers. Its previous parent company, Budimex SA, is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Since beginning operations in 1999, the company has built more than 18,600 housing units in five major Polish cities; Warsaw, Cracow, Poznań, Gdańsk, and Wrocław. Last year alone, despite being negatively affected by the Covid outbreak, it sold almost 1,700 apartments, and it currently has 19 construction projects underway. Budimex Nieruchomości has approximately 150 employees and assets approaching €500 million.
“Together with Crestyl, we would like to establish the company as a significant player in the area of residential real estate sales and rentals in the CEE region. This acquisition is the first step towards achieving that goal,” says Paweł Dębowski, managing partner at Cornerstone Partners.
“We are pleased that the transaction was completed successfully and that we are able to enter the Polish market through a solid platform such as Budimex Nieruchomości. It really is a milestone for the evolution of Crestyl, we have become a key player in the Central European residential real estate market” said Omar Koleilat, Crestyl group CEO. “There’s a bright long-term future ahead for the Polish real estate market. Despite its constant growth, the number of dwellings per capita is still significantly lower than the EU average. Additionally, there’s still a lack of cohesion in the Polish residential sector, and we see great opportunities ahead. We are confident that our partnership with Cornerstone and Budimex Nieruchomości’s experienced team with Damian Kapitan at the helm will enable us to achieve great results.”
Crestyl actively deals with developing more than fifteen sites all over the Czech Republic with a total investment value exceeding €1.2 billion. The acquisition of Budimex Nieruchomości is its first investment outside its domestic market. With this expansion, Crestyl will complement its large commercial development business by bringing up to six times the volume of residential sales each year than before. Crestyl is a Czech, market-leader developing multipurpose residential, retail, and commercial properties. In particular, the company is proud of its consistency, quality, and attention to detail that makes each of its projects unique.
