The Eika Real Estate Fund has acquired the BIG office building in Krakow.
The BIG office, which was built in 2018, has a BREEAM New Construction Excellent rating and occupies almost 11,000 square meters. EREF will also acquire a plot of land owned on a freehold basis. The building was developed by Ghelamco Poland.
According to EREF, “the building is located in the western part of the city center of Krakow, with easy access to the historic Old Town, and other parts of the city. The property is surrounded by Dębnicki Park and Zakrzowek, Krakow’s largest leisure and recreational area with a lagoon in an old quarry, close to the prestigious Vistula boulevards.”
The building’s largest tenant is State Street Bank. According to EREF, “State Street Bank invests in sustainability initiatives to reduce its environmental impact. In this case, the modern office it leases has a roof terrace and beehives installed on the roof at the initiative of the building owner and tenant.”
Viktorija Orkine, Head of Eika Asset Management, the investment management company that manages EREF, says that Krakow’s office market is characterized by “stable international tenants looking for sustainable and modern office space in the city.” According to Orkine, “for investors, Poland currently offers great investment opportunities. With foreign investors retreating from Poland, the majority of its office market liquidity has concentrated in Warsaw, leaving the regional city office market liquidity scarcer. As a result, we are in a position to negotiate with large international players and acquire offices at attractive prices that were not available before.”
“EREF’s value-add strategy capitalizes on the team’s expertise in real estate management, development and the ability to distinguish acquisitions in sectors that currently offer the highest risk-adjusted returns,” she continued. “The fund will continue investing in logistics, offices and retail parks in Poland.”
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