Echo Investment has signed a lease with PKP Cargo concerning an area of 8,000 sqm in an office building which has been constructed as part of the second stage of A4 Business Park in Katowice. It is one of the largest transactions in Poland as regards the regional office property market. The company is to move into the new building in September. The consolidation of Katowice branches of PKP Cargo was carried out with the support of the real estate advisor Savills.
PKP Cargo currently occupies two buildings in Katowice – its own office building on św. Huberta Street and a leased office building on Wojciecha Korfantego Avenue. Moving the two seats into one location is aimed at improving the functioning of the Katowice offices of PKP Cargo and improving the comfort of the company’s staff. It fits in with the general trend of concentrating seats, which can be observed in large corporations. At the same time the office building on św. Huberta Street in Katowice, which belongs to PKP Cargo, will be put up for sale.
“The contract concluded by PKP Cargo and Echo Investment is one of the largest office space leasing transactions in Katowice over the last few years. The company has leased more than 82 percent of the office space available in building B in A4 Business Park,” said Tomasz Subocz, associate director, head of Tenant Representation Department at Savills in Poland.
A4 Business Park consists of three buildings. The construction of the first one as well as a multi-storey car park offering 560 spaces was finished in Q1 2014. The seven-storey building (9,000 sqm) was fully leased by IBM. The second stage of the project involves the construction of a 10-storey building with an office area of 9,000 sqm. The design of A4 Business Park was created by Kraków-based architectural studio DDJM.
In January this year both buildings obtained BREEAM certificates at the ‘very good’ level. The first stage of A4 Business Park, which was put into operation last year, had a score of 66.2 percent. The second office building which is part of the project had an equally as high score of 66.4 percent.