LC Corp SA has signed preliminary sales contracts for two office compounds – Silesia Star in Katowice and Retro Office House in Wrocław. This is the first deal of this kind in LC Corp SA’s history and a harbinger of a new strategy for office property. The contracts signed with Ingadi and Artigo, the subsidiaries of an international company investing in commercial property, is more than €113 million. The preliminary contracts are scheduled for signing on 15 August 2019.
Silesia Star is an A-class office compound, composed of two buildings with 27,000 sqm of total floor space. Linked with a public passage, the two buildings show very modern and simple design. The office compound is located at ul. Uniwersytecka, in Katowice’s city centre, next to the Intercity Road, the University of Silesia and the Silesian Museum. The sales process for the compound was completed in 2016, with the value of the sales contract agreed with Artigo for Silesia Star being €54.3 million.
Retro Office House is a prestigious office building situated in the centre of Wrocław and designed in a modern way. The building’s tenant mix consists of 13 Polish and international companies spread across 21,000 sqm. The ground floor of the building provides space for sales and service companies. The basement offers 155 car park spots. The venue was fully leased within 6 months of its commissioning. The value of the deal was agreed with Ingadi at the level of €58.8 million.
“The sales of office buildings Silesia Star and Retro Office House make the first transaction of this kind in our company’s history,” said Tomasz Wróbel, Board Member at LC Corp SA. “Started in February 2019, the negotiation process with Ingadi and Artigo was completed in a very efficient way. Let me also stress our partners’ professional attitude and the positive atmosphere of our talks.”
The sale of the two office properties was managed by Knight Frank and the law firm Dentons.
“We are very happy to support LC Corp with the sales process of the property. The purchase of the office buildings Retro Office House and Silesia Star points to investors’ continuous interest in regional markets,” said Marcin Purgal, the Director of the Capital Markets Department at Knight Frank. “We managed the whole process in a very short time, from signing the letter of intent, to due diligence, to the stage of preliminary contracts. All of this shows that the two parties have been fully committed to completing the deal.”
“The transaction we have worked on for our client confirms the trend observed in the Polish office property market in the past few years. Investment activity, especially in Wrocław and Katowice, is impressive and on a steady rise,” said Bartłomiej Kordeczka partner in the Property Department at the law firm Dentons.
“We believe that the perfect location of the office buildings of LC Corp will provide excellent conditions for prospective tenants to grow. We are happy not only because of the role our firm has played with this transaction, but also the entire process. Its first stage was completed in a very fast-paced manner,” said Maciej Jodkowski, Counsel at Dentons.
Besides Silesia Star and Retro Office House, LC Corp’s office portfolio covers property in Wrocław Sky Tower and Arkady Wrocławskie, and Warsaw Wola Center and Wola Retro, the latter scheduled for commissioning in Q3 2019. The company manages a total of 158,955 sqm of office space, and 2018 saw LC Corp’s best performance ever: 32 lease contacts for 32,900 sqm of office space were signed that year.
“While delivering each of our commercial properties, we focus on innovation, functionality and good location. Our office buildings meet the highest standards and individual requirements of our tenants. The best proof of our success is the short time we need to lease our buildings,” said Piotr Pirogowicz, the Director of the Lease Department at LC Corp SA.
