London is currently Europe’s leading financial and banking services hub, but it may lose some of its appeal for businesses targeting the European Union following Brexit. Some financial institutions will move their operations outside the UK. Frankfurt and Paris will definitely benefit, but Warsaw is also one of the contenders. Bolesław Kołodziejczyk, PhD, Head of Research & Advisory, Cresa Poland analysed the potential impact of the UK’s departure from the European Union on the Polish market.

NewWork, a serviced offices operator from Hungary, opened their first location in Poland. 3,200 sqm of flexible office space is now available in Warsaw's Wilanów in Wilanów Office Park. NewWork plans to continue their expansion in the Polish capital city and open another 10,000 sqm of serviced office space by the end of 2018.

GTC’s Polish flagship retail project was officially granted an investment loan facility in the maximum amount of up to €200 million. Under the original agreement, Bank Pekao S.A. granted a construction loan facility of up to €116 million.

Savills will manage two buildings in Poznań and three buildings in Warsaw. The two office buildings in Poznan are RB House and Dwór Hamburski. Tenants include IPF Group and T-Mobile Polska. Two other office buildings are Jasna 24 and Wola Plaza in Warsaw. Tenants include i.a. Hochtief Poland. The third Warsaw building is a modern warehouse Airport House with office and social facilities. The total portfolio under management amounts to 25,000 sqm.

Hansainvest Real Assets GmbH has acquired Generation Park X, the first building of Generation Park, a prime office project located in Warsaw, Poland. It is the investor’s second acquisition in Poland, as well as its second from Skanska. The transaction volume was around €83 million.

The Warsaw office market maintains its strong momentum. This year’s total supply is expected to surpass 300,000 sqm, office take-up rose in the first three quarters of 2017 by 11.2% compared with the same period of 2016 and the vacancy rate is falling, shows the latest report by tenant-only advisory firm Cresa. The growth of the SSC/BPO sector and potential Brexit are likely to drive the Warsaw market going forward.

HB Reavis is simultaneously developing three buildings on the largest construction site in Warsaw city centre. The works on the diaphragm walls that will envelop the future basement storeys are nearing completion and a viewing platform has been opened for pedestrians to come and admire the spectacular excavation in progress.

The Platinium 3 office building, managed by Allianz Real Estate, has received a LEED Gold certificate, confirming comfortable working conditions and energy efficiency. The certification process was conducted by Colliers International.

In Q3 the modern retail market in Poland grew by nearly 140,000 sqm of GLA. This is a significant increase as compared to the first half of the year when only a mere 26,000 sqm of GLA within 5 schemes were completed. Notably, the first IKEA store was delivered in Lublin with the residents of Poland’s eastern regions in mind. According to BNP Paribas Real Estate Poland, the end of the year is set to bring more than 200,000 of GLA sqm in new retail projects.

In Q3 2017, the stock of modern office space in Warsaw has increased by more than 76,000 sqm and thus exceeded the 5.3 million sqm threshold. By the end of the year, another 80,000 sqm may appear on the largest office market of Poland, which would mean a total of 5.4 million sqm. The key market development trends, according to the report by BNP Paribas Real Estate Poland, are the consistently improving position of the Wola district on the local office market and the growing popularity of co-working projects located in the best schemes.