On March 5 Philippine investor, ISOC Group, signed the final sale agreement for the Argon building in the Alchemia Office Complex in Gdansk. The transaction is the largest in the history of the Torus and Tricity office market. Cushman & Wakefield acted as advisor to Torus in the transaction. ISOC Group is represented in Poland by its partner Augusta Cracovia Sp. z o.o. used services and support of Greenberg Traurig, JLL, Dil Polska Baumanagement and Infinity Partners. The transaction was financed by Bank BGŻ BNP Paribas.
Argon is the third structure in the Alchemia complex. It is one of the largest free-standing office buildings in Poland and the most prestigious in the entire complex. Its total leasable area is nearly 38,000 sqm, of which over 36,000 sqm are offices. Currently, close to 90 percent of the space is leased, with tenants including Lufthansa Systems Poland, Marine Harvest, Luxoft and Wirtualna Polska Group. Located in the ground floor are ten service and commercial premises that occupy an area of nearly 2,000 sqm. The building has the highest, Platinum level, LEED certification.
Argon’s buyer is the fast-growing and highly dynamic Philippine investment group, ISOC Group which is currently ramping up its investment activity in the Polish market. ISOC maintains investments in cold chain logistics, energy, infrastructure, and property development in the Philippines. Michael Cosiquien, ISOC Group Chairman said that the company maintains a long-term strategy of investing in attractive real estate projects that sustain high value despite a constantly changing market. He adds, “ISOC believes that Argon, and other investments in Poland, are perfect additions to our current portfolio. We are excited by the quality of the projects that we are seeing here, and we hope to continue building our portfolio, adding more value and keeping them for the long-term.”
The sale of Argon is the largest transaction in the history of Torus and the largest investment in the Tricity office market to date. It is also one of the three largest sales transactions ever recorded in the regional cities in Poland concerning a single office building.
“We are consistent in the implementation of our development strategy. We create high-quality spaces that tenants appreciate, and that in turn make the buildings an attractive, value-maintaining investment product, a fact confirmed by the interest of the funds,” says Marek Paliświat, Vice President of Torus.
Torus is one of the leaders among Polish office developers. So far, including the Argon transaction, the company has completed 6 sales transactions of its office properties to 5 different funds (5 Arkońska Business Park buildings and 3 Alchemia stages) for a total amount of nearly EUR 280 million. Torus is therefore responsible for the majority (approximately 65 percent) of the total office transaction volume realised by Tricity developers.
“The sale of the Argon building is Torus’s tremendous success and yet another step towards strengthening the leading position among Polish developers of commercial real estate. It is the largest office investment transaction in Tricity and also an entry into the market of a new long-term foreign investor. Success was due to the outstanding quality of the building, appreciated by renowned tenants, a unique offer of services and facilities for employees of the Alchemia complex, a strategic location in the center of the largest Tricity business hub and unflagging development potential of the office market in Gdansk. We are proud to secure an investor for the Argon building and we thank Torus for the cooperation and for trusting us once again,” says Marcin Kocerba from Cushman & Wakefield.
