United Benefits Holding is entering the Polish real estate market: By acquiring the 16,000 sqm Silver Forum office building in Wroclaw, the full-service provider for real estate services is positioning itself along the entire value chain. The company plans to optimize the property with a focus on ESG standards and mobility, thus leveraging the property’s value-add potential. The core vision: a modern office complex at the gates of the historic city centre. United Benefits plans to redesign the facade and restructure the interior to allow for more flexibility and multiple uses. A manage-to-core strategy will be adopted to reposition the property in the marketplace as a new work property.
Michael Klement, CEO of United Benefits Holding, commented: “We are delighted to have acquired an attractive commercial and office property in Wroclaw with the Silver Forum. Wroclaw is the third largest city in Poland. The country with the lowest recession rate in the EU – this is another factor that persuaded us to enter this market over the long term.”
With its subsidiary INVESTER United Benefits as project developer, the Group aims to develop the property architecturally and to fulfil sustainability requirements, so the Group can reposition it on the market. The expansion and conversion plans provide a variety of public areas for incentives and meetings. Healthy, sustainable restaurants will also be established here to make the Silver Forum attractive for tenants, users and the entire neighbourhood.
“We want to take the overall quality of experience to a new level and reduce ongoing operating costs for tenants in the long term. Our experienced subsidiary EKAZENT will handle the asset management,” said Klement.
Silver Forum was built in 2007. The property, which covers an area of more than 9,000 sqm, has around 16,000 sqm of usable space on seven above-ground floors. The underground parking garage in the basement offers 165 parking spaces, and there are 133 more on the surrounding site. United Benefits is aiming for full occupancy of the property as part of repositioning it on the market. There are also plans for certifications such as LEED and BREEAM IN-USE.
Poland is one of the most economically stable countries in the EU. With a 3.5 percent drop in GDP in 2020, it recorded the lowest recession rate in the EU during the coronavirus pandemic. About the specific choice of location, Michael Klement remarked, “Wroclaw is now the second largest office market among Poland’s regional cities after Krakow. Up to now, however, development activity here has been relatively low, while tenant activity has been on the rise. The city is one of the most sought-after IT locations in Europe. There is a demand, but high-quality options for future-proof working environments are lacking. Today, however, in the age of work-life blending, these are in high demand.”
United Benefits Holding and its subsidiaries have a wealth of experience in value-add strategies, which, according to Klement, are always the result of a successful collaboration between acquisition, project development, asset management, investment management and sales. The Silver Forum is a classic value-add property with the potential to increase in value by adopting targeted measures. This is because the location and transport links are good, and the underlying fabric of the property is of high quality. In light of the current market development, the potential of value-add properties is on the rise.
“We believe that the future lies in redevelopment, densification and repositioning. We prevent properties like these from becoming stranded assets by redeveloping and repositioning them, and by applying our special ‘Manage to ESG’ expertise in existing buildings. The Group’s many years of experience enable us to take effective remedial action in complex real estate projects and develop new concepts,” explained Klement.
The real estate group plans to use its services not only for its projects, but also to offer them to other companies that are already active in Poland or intend to enter the market. “Sometimes there is a lack of resources or certain areas of expertise to successfully implement a project. Or there is a lack of specific market knowledge. We want to close these gaps with Investor United Benefits and Ekazent Management in Poland by bringing in our know-how and the vast experience of our employees in this market to analyze and optimize projects holistically,” said Klement. Whether as a developer or asset manager, he says United Benefits Holding’s goal is to provide real estate companies with a comprehensive service that supports them at every stage of the project. “We are convinced that our services will help other real estate companies in the Polish market to establish – and expand – their business.”
