In 2023, Echo Investment Group grew thanks to a recovery in the residential market, the significant possibilities in the living segment, and the steady need for mixed-use destination developments in Poland’s major cities. Last year, the Group achieved a net profit of more than PLN67 million, attributable to the parent company’s shareholders. By the year’s end, the total worth of its assets was close to PLN6 billion. The profit in 2023 was mainly the result of handing over 2,122 apartments to clients and the revaluation of the Resi4Rent platform.
Expansion in the living sector
In 2024, the Group will focus on new residential projects with another nearly 20 still planned to be started. Besides growing Archicom’s operations – a company carrying out all activities of the Group in the apartments for sale sector – the Group aims to better capitalize on the opportunities in the living sector.
The Resi4Rent platform offers over 4,100 rental apartments in Poland’s six biggest cities. In the last quarter of 2023, Resi4Rent began building around a thousand such units.
At the start of 2024, Echo Investment revealed a partnership with Signal Capital Partners. This new venture aims to create 5,000 spots in private student housing across Poland. This initiative is yet another way for Echo Investment to make the most of its own and the market’s landbank, ultimately boosting profits for investors.
City-forming projects in the best locations
The strong market position of the Echo Investment Group is supported by the situation in the commercial sector and the demand for multifunctional destination projects. In 2023, over 45,000 sqm was leased in Echo Investment office buildings.
“All office buildings that we have put into use are fully leased. We also see great interest from tenants in the office buildings that are currently building in response to the low supply of new space in key locations. Our new buildings will be ready in 2025 when the investment market will be recovering. We are already conducting intensive, promising talks with investors interested in our projects,” comments Nicklas Lindberg, CEO of Echo Investment.
In Warsaw, the construction of Office House (31,000 sqm) – the first building in the multifunctional quarter of Towarowa 22 – is underway, in Wrocław, the first stage of Swobodna SPOT (ultimately 41,000 sqm) is also under construction. Additionally, in Q1 2024, Echo Investment announced the launch of the WITA mixed-use project in Krakow (including over 26,000 office space). The CitySpace concept of flexible workspaces is expanding, now offering almost 4,000 workstations across Poland.
The Group’s retail properties – Galeria Młociny and Libero Katowice – are almost 100 percent leased. In 2023, the turnover of the first centre increased by 12 percent y/y compared to 2022, and the number of visitors increased by 4 percent y/y. For the latter, these numbers are 14 and 9 percent, respectively.
“We continue to prioritize keeping the Group’s finances stable, allowing us to carry out our planned projects and enhance the lasting worth of our businesses. In 2023, we issued bonds worth PLN702 million PLN for private and institutional investors. The money raised from these bonds and a strong cash reserve in the Group – which exceeded 813 million PLN by the end of 2023 – supports our growth strategy. We’re also working hard to expand our activities in the most investor-appealing real estate market segments,” says Maciej Drozd, CFO at Echo Investment.
