KINGSTONE Real Estate (KINGSTONE RE) has advised on and supported the acquisition of an office high-rise in Gdańsk by the Austrian STRABAG Group, acting as transaction advisor and coordinating the entire due diligence and transaction process. The trophy asset is the largest office building not only in the Tricity metropolitan area (Gdańsk, Gdynia, Sopot), but across all Polish regional cities.
The property, Olivia Star, rises to 180 meters, comprises 34 floors and offers approximately 40,000 sqm of premium office space. In addition, the building features extensive conference facilities, five restaurants, three bars and a publicly accessible observation deck (all within the Olivia Star Top concept). The occupancy rate stands at 98%. Major tenants include Nordea Bank, PwC and Olivia Star Top.
The seller and the project developer is Tonsa Commercial, an international real estate investor. The purchase price of the property amounts to ca. €150 million, with the transaction structured as a share deal. Following the closing, KINGSTONE RE assumes long-term asset management of the property and supports the owner in implementing the investment strategy as well as in achieving the property’s sustainable value growth.
Philipp Schomberg, Co-Founder of KINGSTONE RE and CEO Poland, commented: “We are very pleased to have successfully closed this landmark transaction. For KINGSTONE RE and our activities in Poland, this represents a major milestone in our further growth strategy. We played a key role on the purchaser’s side, providing transaction advisory services with institutional standards, coordinating the entire investment process and leading the contractual and commercial negotiations on the purchaser’s side. Furthermore, leveraging our strong local network, we introduced Olivia Star to our investor STRABAG as an ideal match for their requirements regarding investment security, premium quality, and a shared long-term vision.”
Paweł Sobolewski, Managing Director Poland and Head of Fund Management at KINGSTONE RE, added: “We are currently observing growing interest from international investors in the Polish real estate market, particularly in the office segment. The yield spread compared to Western European markets still remains a key driver for international capital. Against the backdrop of Poland’s strong economic performance leading the European countries’ GDP forecast ranking, we expect further upward momentum in real estate pricing. Now is the time to invest in the institutional real estate sector in Poland and capture future value upside.”
Commenting on the next steps, Philipp Schomberg said: “KINGSTONE RE will continue to manage the onboarding process and establish institutional asset management structures. We will represent the investor locally as an exclusive operating partner and assume the role of asset manager for Olivia Star.”
The property is located at 472C Grunwaldzka Street in the Oliwa district of Gdańsk. Olivia Star is the landmark tower of the Olivia Centre complex, the largest business hub in Poland and one of the largest in CEE, comprising a total of seven buildings. The transaction solely relates to the Olivia Star tower, while the remaining six assets will remain under the ownership of the seller.
On the seller’s side, Greenberg Traurig and Pinsent Masons (legal transaction advisory) and Tax Advisor Magdalena Zamoyska (transactional tax advisory) acted as advisors. The purchaser was advised by Act Legal (legal and tax), Savills (technical due diligence) and Baker Tilly (financial due diligence).
