Przystanek mBank in Lodz, an office project being developed by Ghelamco will have a new owner upon completion. Companies from Ghelamco group and long-term investor LCN Capital Partners, have signed a preliminary sale agreement and agreed on a forward purchase assuming the successful completion and occupancy of mBank.
Companies from Ghelamco group have signed a preliminary agreement of sale of shares of the company that owns the Przystanek mBank project to sale-leaseback and build-to-suit investment specialist, LCN Capital Partners through their Luxembourg based, LCN European Fund II SLP. The final agreement will be made after meeting the conditions specified in the preliminary agreement and will be finalized no later than 31st October 2018. The Ghelamco group companies were advised by JLL in structuring and brokering the transaction. Legal advice was provided by the international law firm Hogan Lovells.
“The agreement has been one of the biggest transactions on the Lodz property market in recent years. The success encourages us to further invest in the office property market in Lodz, which we believe still has very high growth potential,” said Jeroen van der Toolen, Managing Director CEE, Ghelamco.
“The sale of Przystanek mBank confirms the attractiveness and liquidity of the main office markets other than Warsaw. A-class buildings in excellent locations and with long-term lease agreements continue to enjoy considerable interest on the part of the investors, also those such as LCN, which are only just entering the office market in Poland,” added Rafał Kosoń, Associate Director, Office Investment, JLL.
“We distinguish ourselves in sale-leaseback and build-to-suit transactions across Europe and North America by negotiating either forward funding or close upon completion transactions. By working with tenant-client and developers on a side-by-side basis we are able to offer our development-partners and tenant-clients flexible solutions. With the Przystanek mBank project, we are pleased with our new relationship with Ghelamco and our tenant-client, mBank. LCN is proud to become a member of this project as it is perfectly in line with the long-term goals of our investing-partners, i.e. pension funds and insurers,” said Edward LaPuma, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, LCN Capital Partners.
Przystanek mBank is the first project of Ghelamco Poland implemented in Lodz and one of the most modern office buildings in the city. The investment was delivered in the center of the city, in the vicinity of the renovated EC1 complex and the new train station Lodz Fabryczna.
Overall, the buildings offer around 24,000 sqm of office space, which will be fully occupied by mBank Group. The bank will move into its new headquarters in the second half
of 2017.