Sharow Capital, the specialist CEE Asset Manager, has teamed up with UK-based private equity real estate fund manager, and acquired its first three office assets in Poland in the cities of Gdansk, Lodz and Poznan. The three properties represent a transaction volume of approximately 50 million and represent three separate off-market transactions undertaken concurrently. They will provide the foundation for a platform from which Sharow Capital will grow its Polish regional office exposure. Sharow Capital will also oversee the day to day asset management of the buildings.

The first three acquisitions, which are in prime city centre locations and recently built or refurbished to a high specification, are:

Opera in Gdansk: a Grade A, award-winning office building completed in 2012, totalling c. 8,300 sqm arranged over ground and five upper floors and 100% leased to strong covenant tenants. The asset is located on the edge of Gdansk city centre with immediate frontage along Zwyciestwa Avenue, the main arterial route leading towards the cities of Sopot and Gdynia.

Okraglak and Kwadraciak in Poznan: Two adjacent Grade A, landmark award-winning office buildings in the centre of Poznan totalling c. 7,900 sqm arranged over ground and nine (Okraglak) and five (Kwadraciak) upper floors. Originally completed in 1955 as a department store and considered of great architectural merit, Okraglak and Kwadraciak underwent a complete refurbishment and conversion in 2012, and are currently virtually fully leased.

Forum 76 in Lodz: an A class office building of 8,000 sqm located in central Lodz and finished to an exceptionally high standard. The property is fully leased to a number of institutional tenants and provides almost column free space arranged around two central mechanical cores. Forum 76 is a highly acclaimed modern office asset, which has received numerous real estate industry accolades including the Office of the Year and Building Construction of the year 2009. The Property is certified BREEAM Very Good.

The properties are multi-let to institutional tenants including among others GFT, BNP Paribas, Prudential, HSBC, Lufthansa and KPMG.

Angus Wade, Co-founder of Sharow Capital, said:

We are delighted about this transaction as this continues to bolster our fast growing business in CEE. The Portfolio comprises a high-quality selection of buildings, in prime locations and let to strong covenant tenants, which will help us further enhance their value and sustain high occupancy through targeted capital expenditure initiatives.

Guy Speir, Co-founder of Sharow Capital, said:

This is an exciting acquisition for Sharow Capital and one we are undertaking with a very strong partner Benson Elliot. Our decision to invest in Poland is underpinned by it being Europe’s strongest growing economy, which is being driven by the emergence of the regional cities as key investment destinations.