‘Poland has a lot to look forward to’
Poland has a lot to look forward to, delegates heard at Real Asset Media’s CEE Investment Briefing, which was held at Colliers International’s London offices last week.
The bad news is that legislation to establish a REIT regime has not been approved yet, but the good news is that the market has matured to such an extent that it is ready to hit the ground running as soon as it gets the green light.
‘Lack of domestic capital is a pity, because we cannot buy in our country in an institutional way, so to speak,’ said Dorota Wysokinska-Kuzdra, Senior Partner, Head of Corporate Finance CEE, Colliers International. ‘But on the other hand it creates an opportunity, because once we have the REIT legislation allowing pension funds to invest directly into real estate this will create even more liquidity very quickly’.
The Polish market is already large, developed, liquid and mature as the presence of good local asset managers shows, she said. Adding domestic capital ‘will make Poland even more attractive, because we know that liquidity is key for any investor in any market’.
There are some early, positive signs that the new government will be more business-friendly, experts agreed.
‘Poland has seen tremendous growth despite an illiberal government, which four years ago passed laws restraining economic development and restricting business activity,’ said Wojciech Koczara, Partner, Head of CEE Real Estate, CMS. ‘Now we are seeing a reverse trend, new laws that are helping businesses to develop and even correcting the mistakes that were made. I hope this trend will continue’.
Looking at the number of buildings and the development of the real estate sector in ‘an unfriendly environment’, he said, it is legitimate to look at the future with renewed confidence and to expect even more growth.
‘Poland seems politically stable to us and that’s what matters,’ said Freddie James, Assistant Fund Manager, Tritax. ‘There are many international developers, so we feel we are in good company. We are confident it will remain a good market to be in’.
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