Skanska Property Poland, the office market leader, sums up 2017

For Skanska, the office market leader, 2017 saw over 100,000 sqm of space leased, seven investments launched and five buildings sold for approx. 1.2 billion PLN. However, Skanska Property Poland is not resting on its laurels. Currently, the company is developing approx. 170,000 sqm of office space in the best locations throughout Poland and plans to launch further investments. 2018 will be a groundbreaking year in terms of implementing innovations - Skanska will start testing solar panels based on perovskites, obtaining the first WELL certificate and introducing a standard of building replete with innovations – Connected by Skanska.

- I am very pleased that our strategy, which was adopted several years ago, is now yielding such excellent results. We bought the best land parcels and so are able to prepare fantastic projects in co-operation with the best Polish architectural studios. Furthermore, we work in accordance with a transparent business model that is unique for this market. All this translates into a great deal of interest in our buildings amongst both tenants and investors. And most importantly, our business partners return to do more business with us - says Arkadiusz Rudzki, Managing Director at Skanska’s office unit. - We are currently developing ten buildings and planning further launches on both Warsaw and regional markets. We are the only company on the market that uses internal financing. Furthermore, we have the great advantage of drawing on the vast experience of the entire Skanska Group. It ensures security and the timely completion of projects for our tenants and investors. Thanks to this long-term strategy, we have secured a portfolio of top-tier land parcels. This allows us to launch thoroughly thought-out investments on all our current markets for the next 5-7 years. In addition, we can focus on developing top-class projects and enhancing our position in the areas of safety, sustainable development and innovation. We build the best projects in Poland - concludes Arkadiusz Rudzki.

2017 was the best year in the history of Skanska’s office unit in Poland. In total, the company leased out space that is almost the equivalent of the usable area in the Palace of Science and Culture in Warsaw. Skanska also delivered three new buildings to market - namely Nowa Fabryczna in Lodz, Green2Day in Wroclaw and the first building of the Generation Park complex in Warsaw. As a result, up to 31 tenants now lease new space totaling approx. 68,000 sqm.

- The market is red hot at the moment. We no longer face a typical tenant market. The is a lot of competition for conveniently located office space and sometimes several companies compete for space on the same floor within one office building. In addition, big tenants compete with each other at the early development stage so as to secure the space appropriate for their future relocation and development. In many cases, companies seek to consolidate their offices and operations within one single location - explains Ewelina Kałużna, Leasing and Asset Management Director Poland at Skanska. - Today, companies are developing so rapidly that they plan their future recruitment processes well in advance and with a high degree of precision. This contributes to the need to plan additional space for work. Tenants want to ensure that they will be able to remain in one location even if after expanding their teams - adds Ewelina Kałużna.

In 2017, Skanska began a partnership with Business Link - the largest network of office space to lease. The first joint location was launched in Poznan in 2017 and further investments of this kind are planned for both Krakow and Wroclaw. In total, Business Link is planning to open approx. 10 facilities in Skanska’s office buildings in the next few years, which will all be located in the Central and Eastern Europe region with the majority in Poland. This constitutes the most comprehensive offer of co-working offices in this part of the world.

Furthermore, in 2018, Skanska will also launch the development of further office projects, including one in Tri-City. The company is also planning to purchase further strategic land parcels in all cities where it is currently developing its projects. In order to keep up with market demand in the upcoming years, the company has adjusted its structure of project regions and leasing teams, establishing two strategic regions - North (Warsaw, Lodz, Tri-City) and South (Wroclaw, Krakow, Katowice, Poznan).

2018 marked by innovation

Skanska invests in innovative technologies. Together with Saule Technologies, the company aims to cover building facades with perovskite solar cells, developed by Polish physicist Olga Malinkiewicz. As a result, buildings might become completely self-sufficient in terms of energy. Furthermore, Skanska is also testing a Connected Helmet on the Generation Park construction site. The device registers and informs the site’s supervision staff on any potential accidents amongst employees. This year, the company will introduce a pilot project that has a good chance to revolutionize safety measures on construction sites throughout Poland. Both solutions are also groundbreaking on a global scale.

In adherence to the new Connected by Skanska standard, all new buildings developed in Central and Eastern Europe will be equipped with an innovation kit integrated within a mobile application. All amenities on the app, such as Activity Based Parking or virtual reception, will serve both tenants and their guests as well as improving access to the building and parking. Furthermore, tenants will also be able to select a special Connected Fit-out package which is based on solutions that enhance the use and management of office space. The first project to be equipped in accordance with the Connected by Skanska standard will be Spark in Warsaw.

- Employees want to talk up the building and office space that they work in. Thanks to our scale we can co-operate with the best companies on the market – both large corporations and start-ups - and create, test and deploy entirely new solutions dedicated to the improvement of the user experience in our office buildings. We want our tenants to have safer and more innovative work spaces - emphasizes Arkadiusz Rudzki.

Skanska’s office unit operates not only in Poland but also in three other countries from Central and Eastern Europe - Czech Republic, Romania and Hungary. The unit is breaking records throughout the entire region. It leased nearly 145,000 sqm of office space on ten CEE market. in 2017, 10% higher than 2016. In CEE, Skanska sold seven office buildings for a total amount of approx. 1.5 billion PLN, with five of the seven located in Poland - in Poznan, Krakow and Warsaw. This confirms the strong position of CEE and the market’s increasing attractiveness for investors, for whom Poland is a location of crucial importance.

Skanska Property Poland has been recently awarded with Outsourcing Stars Award in the Developer category.

Skanska Property Poland in 2017 in numbers:

• 100,000 sqm of leased office space - a record for the company.
• Nearly 68,000 sqm of office space delivered to tenants - 31 tenants relocated into offices developed by Skanska. Another record-breaking result for the company.
• Three buildings delivered to market providing a total of 60,000 sqm.
• Five buildings sold to foreign investment funds for 1.2 billion PLN.
• Seven investments launched in six cities.
• Currently there are ten buildings under construction with a total leasable space of 168,000 sqm. (January 2018)
• Three new Business Link locations launched in Skanska projects - an open office in Poznan (Maraton), High5ive in Krakow and Green2Day in Wroclaw.
• 50 Connected Helmets - a pilot project conducted in co-operation with Intel and Cybercom, implemented on the construction site of Generation Park.

Skanska Property Poland