Skanska Property Poland is selling its Lodz-based office complex Green Horizon, the company’s first investment in the city. The building is being acquired by a fund managed by Griffin.
Green Horizon was commissioned for use in Q2 of 2013 and offers ca. 33,000 sqm of modern class A office space. The complex is almost entirely leased to companies predominantly from the business services sector. Among its main tenants are Infosys BPO and Southwestern, with Infosys occupying the largest space at over 21,000 sqm.
“It is our third sales contract in Poland in two months, and the second with a partner, who is among the biggest real estate investors in the world. The Lodz transaction can be a sign that even the top-tier companies are beginning to see the potential of the city. This is only the third divestment in Lodz over the last six years. However, the city should not be overlooked as it is among the five most important outsourcing locations in Poland. This sector has already generated 130,000 jobs in the country and is the fastest growing sector of the Polish economy. The sale of Green Horizon also illustrates that when the best office buildings are taken into account, they will always be attractive products even if they are outside capital cities,” commented Adrian Karczewicz, Transaction Director at Skanska Commercial Development Europe.
Green Horizon will be part of the portfolio of investment group Griffin Real Estate.
“Green Horizon is a good purchase for an investor looking for high-class office buildings in attractive locations outside capital cities. Long-term lease agreements, a very good location and the high standard of a project are the basic characteristics which should distinguish an attractive office building from an investor’s point of view,” commented Dorota Wysokińska-Kuzdra, senior partner at Griffin Real Estate.
For Griffin, the purchase of Green Horizon is not the company’s first transaction in Lodz. The company recently bought the premises of the former Scheibler factory, where it is planning to conduct a full renovation of historic buildings, construct new buildings and develop a compact complex combining office, retail, services and residential functions.
Skanska Property Poland was advised on the transaction by Cushman & Wakefield, while the legal issues were secured by Dentons. Legal consultancy for the purchaser was provided by Linklaters law firm, and commercial by Colliers International.
Green Horizon is LEED Gold certified. Furthermore, from an early stage, the building was developed in cooperation with its future major tenant, enabling the scheme’s parameters to fit the tenant’s requirements.
