Jasinski has advised Barbara Luijckx on the expansion of its headquarters.
Barbara Luijckx is a manufacturer of chocolate decorations and semi-finished products.
According to Jasinski, the expansion includes “the creation of modern production, storage, and office spaces.”
The Jasinski team included Partner Mateusz Jasinski, Counsel Maciej Lidzbarski, and Associate Marcin Kwiecien.
Jasinski did not respond to our inquiry on the matter.
DWF Poland has advised Transition Technologies Managed Services on obtaining prospectus approval for its planned listing on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
Ipopema Securities acted as the investment firm, global coordinator, and bookrunner.
TTMS is part of the Transition Technologies Group, a Polish IT company.
According to DWF, “the Polish Financial Supervision Authority has approved TTMS’ prospectus, which is a key milestone in the company’s public offering process and paves the way for TTMS to proceed with its plans to list shares on the WSE. The transaction will involve the issuance of new shares only.”
The DWF team included Managing Partner Michal Pawlowski, Partner Rafal Wozniak, and Counsel Krzysztof Kropidlowski.
The Act of July 7, 2023, amending the Act on Spatial Planning and Development was published on August 24, 2023, and entered into force in most of its content 30 days after its publication. However, the most important changes revolutionizing spatial development in Poland will enter into force by the end of 2025. The changes will mainly affect the obligations of municipalities.
The most important changes of this revolution in spatial development include the introduction of a general master plan for the commune which will replace the current studies of conditions and directions of spatial development and changes in the procedure for issuing decisions on development conditions in the absence of the master plan.
The general plan will replace the studies of conditions and directions of spatial development of the commune at the end of 2025. The communes have been given a difficult task consisting in the necessity to prepare general plans covering the entire areas of the communes. The communes are obliged to prepare such plans after conducting a procedure in which many entities will participate, and the local community will also have a significant share. The above means that the legislator has given the communes a very difficult task, which is to lead to the unification and regulation of development-related problems in Poland, both in the scope of private construction – single-family houses, and in the scope of investments related to multi-family buildings and commercial and office buildings and all kinds of industrial plants.
Unlike the study of conditions and directions of spatial development, the general plan will be an act of local law. This means that it will have legal force, and its provisions will bind planners issuing decisions on development conditions. The decision on development conditions will have to be based on the assumptions of the general plan, which will limit the freedom of decision-making of communal planners. In addition, the provisions of the local plan will be a binding basis for the adoption of local plans, which should shorten the periods needed for their adoption.
The general plan will have to define the planning zones indicated in the act and define municipal urban standards. It will also be possible to establish areas of supplementary development and areas of supplementary development of the city centre. The supplementary areas will be areas where it will be possible to issue decisions on development conditions in the absence of a local master plan for a given area. Such decisions cannot be issued outside the area of supplementary development. The general plan of the commune will be divided into planning zones, which have been divided into 13 categories and will concern, among others, residential development zones, service zones, large-scale trade, agricultural production, cemeteries, greenery and recreation, communication. These zones will fill the entire master plan, at the same time indicating the framework directions for the development of a given area.
Unfortunately, existing decisions on development conditions issued before the act came into force remain unchanged and will continue to be valid for an indefinite period, but the changes introduced by the act nevertheless seem to be a step in the right direction.
On the other hand, for the new development conditions (which will become final after January 1, 2026), a validity period has been introduced and limited to five years – from the day the decision becomes final.
In addition, technical and substantive issues will change, a decision on development conditions will only be able to be issued for properties where, in accordance with the general plan, the issuance of such decisions is permissible for specific types of buildings.
As mentioned above, changes to development conditions will unfortunately not cover decisions on development conditions that came into force before the Act came into force, which will continue to cause arbitrariness and spatial disorder. In relation to development conditions issued after the Act came into force, property owners will be limited, on the one hand, by the five-year validity period of development conditions, but on the other hand they will be aware of what types of facilities may be built in the vicinity of their property. Unfortunately, the legislator did not decide to introduce changes or to limit the applicable development conditions to any extent, which may result in the creation of facilities that are inconsistent with the general plan in a few years, and this is based on legally binding and valid decisions on development conditions issued before the changes described in this article came into force. On the other hand, it should be borne in mind that, in accordance with the constitutional principle of legal certainty and the principle of non-retroactivity of law, interference in existing decisions on development conditions would lead to the State Treasury being liable for damages towards those entitled to these decisions.
By Bartosz Miszkurka, Partner, and Jakub Paszkiewicz, Associate, Solivan, PONTES
On October 22nd, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) issued a precedent-setting ruling in the Kolin Inşaat Turizm Sanayi ve Ticaret case (C-652/22 – the “Kolin case”). This is of crucial importance to contractors engaging or aiming to engage in the public procurement market of the European Union (“EU”), who originate from countries outside of the EU that are not party to international agreements with the EU which would formally admit such contractors to public tenders in the EU.
The Kolin case concerned a request for a preliminary ruling directed to the CJEU by a Croatian court during proceedings to assess the legality of a decision to award a contract for the construction of railway infrastructure to a competitor of Kolin Inşaat Turizm Sanayi ve Ticaret based in Turkey (“Kolin”) after said competitor was permitted to amend and clarify its bid in wide scope after the deadline for submission of bids. The Croatian court expressed uncertainty as to whether this decision was compliant with the provisions of EU Directive 2014/25 on procurement by entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors (the ”Directive”).
The CJEU refused to answer the questions posed by the Croatian court, justifying this refusal by differentiating between the legal situation of contractors from countries outside of the EU that have concluded an international agreement with the European Union guaranteeing on the basis of reciprocity and equality access to public procurement for contractors (including signatories to the World Trade Organization Agreement on Government Procurement – GPA) and the legal situation of contractors from countries outside of the EU that have not concluded such an agreement – such as Kolin.
The CJEU stated that:
The consequences of this judgement for the public procurement market in the EU are monumental. The Kolin ruling makes it clear that in the absence of an international agreement on public procurement between the EU and a third country, the participation of contractors from said country in EU public tenders on equal terms with EU bidders and those from countries bound by such agreements, is not guaranteed by EU directives.
The Kolin case ruling is just one of several measures adopted in recent years within the EU which may substantially affect the situation of contractors from third countries in the area of public procurement.
April 18th, 2016 – entry into force of the last generation of EU public procurement directives (2014/24, 2014/25) promoting the protection of security, labour and environmental standards in public contracts and introducing measures such as the possibility of preferring EU products in sectoral procurement and a new regulation on preventing selection of bids with abnormally low prices.
July 24th, 2019 – issuance of the EU Commission’s extensive guidance on non-EU participation in the EU procurement market, focused on the tools in the then-current public procurement legal framework which may be used to protect against distortions of the EU internal market caused by contractors originating from outside of the EU.
August 29th, 2022 – introduction of the EU’s International Procurement Instrument (the “IPI”) laying down procedures for the EU Commission to investigate alleged measures or practices negatively affecting the access of EU businesses, goods and services to non-EU procurement markets, and consult with the non-EU countries concerned as well as impose measures to restrict access to EU public procurement procedures for businesses, goods and services from the non-EU countries concerned.
July 12th, 2023 – entry into force of the first provisions included in the Regulation on foreign subsidies distorting the internal market (the “FSR”) introducing a wide range of legal tools enabling the EU Commission to address distortions of the EU internal market caused by subsidies provided by countries outside of the EU.
October 22nd, 2024 – CJEU ruling in the Kolin case.
While the above measures do not exclude outright the possibility of a third-country contractor competing for the award of public contracts in the EU, they introduce additional legal issues which cannot be overlooked if the goal of such a contractor is to successfully bid for a contract.
By Aldona Kowalczyk and Anna Szymanska, Partners, and Adam Krolak, Senior Associate, Dentons
Cytowski & Partners has advised Open Ocean on the USD 8.2 million series A financing round of Authologic that also saw the participation of the Y Combinator, SMOK Ventures, and Peak Capital. Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman reportedly advised Authologic.
Open Ocean is an early-stage venture capital firm investing in B2B software across Europe with offices in London and Helsinki.
Authologic is a Polish identity verification startup.
The Cytowski & Partners team included Partner Tytus Cytowski, Lawyers Eresi Tracy Uche and Michal Fert, and Associates Kunal Kolhe and Heidi Fan.
CK Legal Chabasiewicz Kowalska has advised on Kruk’s series AP1 bonds issuance with a total nominal value of PLN 75 million with a 82.73% subscription reduction.
Kruk operates in the debt collection industry across Poland and Central Europe. It has been listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange since 2011.
According to CK Legal, “this is the first public offering conducted based on the base prospectus of the 11th Bond Issuance Program. Based on this prospectus, Kruk may issue bonds with a total nominal value of up to 900 million PLN over the next year, that is 200 million more than in 2023.”
Earlier this year, CK Legal advised Kruk on its AO7 bond issuance (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on March 1, 2024) as well as on the issuance of its AO5EUR and AO6EUR series bonds (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on February 12, 2024). In 2023, CK Legal advised Kruk on its AO3EUR and A04EUR issuance (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on December 20, 2023).
The CK Legal team included Founding Partner Wojciech Chabasiewicz and Head of Capital Markets Anita Gwozdz.
KWKR has successfully represented Van der Vorm Vastgoed before the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland regarding inconsistent tax rates.
Van der Vorm Vastgoed is a Netherlands-based real estate agency that provides residential and commercial real estate services.
According to KWKR, Van der Vorm Vastgoed has been “struggling with various contradictory court rulings on the tax rate for a long time” but the Supreme Administrative Court has adopted a “key resolution regarding the property tax rate that a company should pay when it rents a flat to an individual. The decision resolves the divergence in case law as to whether the higher business-specific rate or the lower residential rate applies in such cases. The SAC held that if the tenant uses the premises for residential purposes and does not carry out business activities, the lower residential rate should apply.”
The KWKR team included Managing Partner Marcin Wierzbicki, Partner Lukasz Lanoszka, and Associates Karolina Suchon-Kawalec and Radoslaw Urban.
Jasinski has advised Falcon V Systems on its sale to Vecima Networks.
Falcon V Systems is a Poland-based telecommunications company.
Vecima Networks is a technology company.
According to Jasinski, the sale to Vecima Networks will enable Falcon V Systems to continue its growth in the telecommunications market.
The Jasinski team included Attorney at Law Marcin Kwiecien.
Jasinski did not respond to our inquiry on the matter.
SKJB Szybkowski Kuzma Jelen Brzoza-Ostrowska has advised a joint venture of Marvipol Development and Panattoni on the sale of a logistics complex in Warsaw. A&O Shearman advised the purchasers.
The complex in question is City Logistics Warsaw IV, a 39,000-square-meter logistics complex in Warsaw to an unidentified buyer. The transaction is valued at EUR 53.5 million (as reported by CEE Real Estate Matters on October 14, 2024).
“The City Logistics Warsaw IV transaction is a prime example for today’s core sellers,” said Panattoni Co-Head of Capital Markets Poland Michal Stanislawski. “As the economic cycle progresses, we anticipate increased investment activity in this segment.”
The SKJB team included Partner Anna Brzoza-Ostrowska, Counsel Izabeli Kultys, and Associate Natalii Stys.
The A&O Shearman team included Partner Michal Matera, Senior Associate Malgorzata Jastrzebska, Associates Julia Pytko and Jan Spierzak, and Paralegal Aleksander Tarasiewicz.
Schoenherr has advised Sunrise Real Estate and Ares Management on a refinancing deal with Blackstone and Apollo Global Management for a European logistics portfolio valued at approximately EUR 1.5 billion. Eversheds Sutherland advised the lenders. A&O Shearman reportedly advised Sunrise Real Estate and Ares Management as well.
Sunrise Real Estate is a real estate investment management company headquartered in London. Ares Management Corporation is an alternative investment manager operating in the credit, private equity, and real estate markets.
Blackstone is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. Apollo Global Management is an American asset management firm that primarily invests in alternative assets.
According to Schoenherr, “the portfolio consists of 33 assets totaling 1.2 million square meters, spread across the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and Poland. The refinancing is a critical step in leveraging logistics assets across Europe amid high demand in the sector.”
The Schoenherr team included Partner Katarzyna Sulimierska, Senior Attorney at Law Adam Nowosielski, Attorneys at Law Ewelina Adamczyk and Karolina Samocik, and Associate Roza Szatan.
The Eversheds Sutherland team included Partners Michal Smolny and Mateusz Dereszynski, Of Counsel Adrian Ziolkowski, Counsel Grzegorz Barszcz, Senior Associate Ewelina Gromelska, Lawyer Rafal Piasecki, and Paralegal Jakub Domagala.