Category: Poland

Allen & Overy has advised Solida Capital on its acquisition of the Grojecka 5 office building in Warsaw from Cromwell European REIT. CMS reportedly worked on the deal as well.

According to A&O, the property is set to undergo refurbishment following the change of ownership and will be rebranded as G5 Prime Offices. The asset offers an approximately 11,500-square-meter gross leasable area.

Solida Capital Europe describes itself as a real estate investment firm with its own development team, dedicated to driving positive change through sustainable development and innovation.

The Allen & Overy team included Partner Michal Matera, Senior Associate Malgorzata Jastrzebska, and Associates Katarzyna Fus-Starzec and Julia Pytko.

Former Senior Counsel Pawel Kulak has been appointed as the Nordic Investment Bank’s Principal Counsel.

Kulak joined the Nordic Investment Bank in 2021 and has been with the team in Helsinki for over three years. He previously spent five years in Luxembourg with the European Investment Bank. Before that, he spent three years in Warsaw with CMS, and, earlier, three more with Clifford Chance, starting in 2010.

The Nordic Investment Bank is an international financial institution owned by eight Nordic and Baltic countries. It provides long-term loans and guarantees on competitive market terms to clients in the public and private sectors and finances sustainable projects that increase productivity and benefit the environment.

“I am privileged and honored to be able to continue my humble contribution to financing the development of the Baltic Sea Region and to building bridges between Poland and the Nordic & Baltic States, in this new role,” commented Kulak.

Originally reported by CEE In-House Matters.

White & Case has advised joint bookrunners Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, PKO Bank Polski, and UniCredit Bank on PKO Bank Polski’s EUR 500 million issuance of senior non-preferred notes due 2028. Allen & Overy reportedly advised PKO Bank Polski.

According to White & Case, “the note issuance was carried out under PKO Bank Polski’s EUR 4 billion euro medium-term note program, which was updated in March 2024. The notes are listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange and will be listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.”

The White & Case team included Warsaw-based Partner Marcin Studniarek, Local Partner Bartosz Smardzewski, and Associates Dawid Ksiazek and Michal Truszczynski.

Dentons has advised Cero Generation – a Macquarie Asset Management portfolio company operating on a stand-alone basis – on the sale of its controlled Polish photovoltaic portfolio with a total capacity of 80 megawatts to GoldenPeaks Capital.

According to Dentons, the portfolio consists mainly of ready-to-build projects, which GoldenPeaks Capital plans to finance, build, and operate. “Cero Generation has a 25-gigawatt solar and storage portfolio for which it identifies, develops, builds, and operates utility-scale solar energy and battery storage projects across eight European countries.”

GoldenPeaks Capital Energy is an independent power producer and trader of renewable energy with offices in Malta and Switzerland.

The Dentons team included Partner Marceli Kasperkiewicz and Associates Marcin Urbanski, Aleksandra Redzisz, and Weronika Urbszys.

Dentons did not respond to our inquiry on the matter.

On April 5, 2024, Wardynski & Partners announced that the Canpack Group’s CP Glass’s sale of its glass production business in Orzesze, Poland, to BA Glass (reported by CEE Legal Matters on December 12, 2023) had closed after having received merger control approval from the Polish competition authority.

The Canpack Group – part of Giorgi Global Holdings – is a manufacturer of aluminum beverage cans and packaging solutions for the food and beverage industries, as well as glass bottles and metal closures. Headquartered in Krakow, the Canpack Group employs approximately 9,000 people worldwide and has operations in 16 countries.

BA Glass is a producer of glass packaging employing over 5,000 people. It operates 13 plants out of which two are located in Poland, two in Bulgaria, one in Romania, and one in Greece.

As previously reported, MJH Moskwa Jarmul Haladyj advised BA Glass on the acquisition. Wardynski & Partners advised the Canpack Group on the sale.

The MJH team was led by Partners Pawel Moskwa and Lukasz Blazejczyk and included Senior Counsel Mateusz Baszczyk and Associate Artur Szczepaniak.

The Wardynski & Partners team was led by Partners Adam Pawlisz and Michal Nowacki and included Partners Jakub Macek and Michal Glinski, Senior Associates Dominik Kaszuba and Marcin Rzysko, Lawyers Marcin Kulesza and Lukasz Bondaruk, and Junior Associate Adrian Budny.

Gessel has advised Kredyt Inkaso on its public placement of S1 series bonds with an aggregate value approaching EUR 5 million with issue agent Michael/Strom Dom Maklerski.

According to the firm, the S1 series was Kredyt Inkaso’s first public offering of euro-denominated bonds. “The public offering, conducted on the basis of an information memorandum, was well received by investors – the reduction rate exceeded 15%.”

Established in 2001, Kredyt Inkaso is a Polish debt management company.

Back in 2023, Gessel also advised Kredyt Inkaso on establishing its PLN 100 million bond issuance program (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on February 22, 2023) and the public offering of N1-series bonds worth PLN 18 million (as reported on July 19, 2023).

The Gessel team was led by Partner Krzysztof Marczuk and Senior Associate Jakub Rowicki.

Gessel has advised Cavatina Holding on its prospectus-free bond issuance program with a maximum value of PLN 50 million and related public issuance of M2024A series bonds with an aggregate value over PLN 21.5 million.

Noble Securities was the exclusive issuance organizer.

Cavatina Holding is an office space developer operating in Poland. The company is present in seven Polish cities: Warsaw, Krakow, Lodz, Wroclaw, Gdansk, Katowice, and Bielsko-Biala.

According to the firm, Cavatina Holding has just launched a new, prospectus-less, two-currency bond issuance program with a maximum aggregate nominal value of PLN 50 million or equivalent in euros. The first completed public offering proceeded on the basis of an information memorandum and was 16% oversubscribed.

Back in 2022, Gessel also advised Cavatina Holding on its PLN 60 million public offering of P2022B and P2022C series bonds (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on July 25, 2022) and its PLN 16.5 million public offering of series P2022D bonds (as reported on November 30, 2022).

The Gessel team included Partner Krzysztof Marczuk, Managing Associate Magdalena Szeplik, and Senior Associate Jakub Rowicki.

White & Case has advised PKO Bank Hipoteczny on its PLN 1 billion issuance of mortgage-covered bonds – due March 22, 2028, with a WIBOR three-month+0.55% floating coupon – with joint bookrunners Erste Group and PKO Bank Polski.

According to White & Case, “the transaction represents the first issuance in 2024 of PLN-denominated covered bonds under PKO Bank Hipoteczny’s EUR 4 billion International Covered Bond Program. The bonds are listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange and will be listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.”

White & Case also advised PKO Bank Hipoteczny on all three of its 2023 issuances of PLN-denominated covered bonds under its International Covered Bond Programme (as previously reported by CEE Legal Matters on November 8, 2023, on July 4, 2023, and on February 15, 2023).

The White & Case team included Warsaw-based Partner Marcin Studniarek, Local Partner Bartosz Smardzewski, and Associates Dawid Ksiazek and Michal Truszczynski.

Rymarz Zdort Maruta has advised the Bank Guarantee Fund on the sale of VeloBank to US fund Cerberus Capital Management for an investment amount of more than PLN 1 billion. Linklaters advised Cerberus.

The transaction remains contingent on regulatory approval.

The BGF guarantees bank deposits in Poland and provides support for financial institutions at risk of bankruptcy.

VeloBank is a bridge institution, the successor to Getin Noble Bank, which was subject to resolution.

Cerberus Capital Management is an investment firm based in the US.

The Rymarz Zdort Maruta team included Partner Magdalena Pyzik-Walag, Senior Associate Pawel Mazur, and Associates Filip Goledzinowski, Szymon Marciniak, and Tymoteusz Matusiak.

The Linklaters team included Warsaw-based Partner Marcin Schulz, Managing Associates Joanna Gawlicka and Magdalena Szewczyk, and Senior Associates Maciej Pietron and Michal Wolangiewicz, with further team members in London.

Editor’s Note: After this article was published, CMS announced it advised the EBRD on an acquisition of a minority stake in VeloBank. The firm’s team included Partners Mateusz Stepien, Graham Conlon, and Slawomir Czerwinski, Counsels Antoni Wandzilak, Jaroslaw Gajda, Agnieszka Starzynska, Krzysztof Sikora, and Mariusz Minkiewicz, and Associate Jakub Rykowski.

Subsequently, Clifford Chance announced that it advised the IFC on its minority investment in VeloBank. The firm’s team included Managing Partner Agnieszka Janicka, Partner Wojciech Polz, Of Counsel Grzegorz Namiotkiewicz, Counsel Anna Biala, and Senior Associate Aleksandra Wlaszczuk as well as further team members in Amsterdam, Washington, DC, and London.

Poland’s property market is experiencing both pressing challenges and emerging opportunities, according to Solivan Partner Bartosz Miszkurka, from the refinancing woes of established projects to the burgeoning demand for residential and student housing and the impacts of legislative reforms.

“The most pressing issue we’re facing is the challenge of refinancing existing projects developed a few years back,” Miszkurka begins. “These properties, particularly shopping centers and office buildings, are now in a dire financial situation with the rents generated being insufficient to cover the financing provided by banks years ago.” According to him, “this has led to a two-stage response from property owners: some are successfully renegotiating loans, while others, unable to adjust the financing terms, are forced to sell their properties.”

On a more positive note, Miszkurka reports that there are “indeed bright spots in the landscape. The residential property market, especially student housing, is booming. This growth is fueled by high demand from both local and international students, with Poland hosting around 100,000 students from abroad,” he explains. The demand for “high-quality, well-located accommodation that meets European standards is strong,” he says, and major players with significant financial and resource capabilities are stepping in to meet this demand. “Another positive development is the rise of retail parks. Unlike the past focus on developing huge shopping centers outside city limits, the trend now is towards mid-sized and smaller buildings in towns across Poland, making retail more accessible,” he adds.

Looking at it from a law-making standpoint, Miszkurka reports that Poland is “in the midst of a significant legislative reform, particularly concerning local zoning plans. A new legislative act based on the main law was introduced last September, generating a mix of anticipation and concern among market players,” he says. “There’s fear that this new regulation will complicate the process of obtaining new building permits and zoning decisions in certain areas, potentially slowing down development projects. Many believe that the government will need to amend this law or extend deadlines to avoid market disruptions, especially since local zoning acts such as stadiums are set to expire by the end of 2025, which could bring development to a halt if new acts are not adopted in time,” he explains.

Finally, looking at the entire picture, Miszkurka says that he feels the market to be at a crossroads of sorts, “facing both significant challenges and opportunities for growth. The demand for residential and rental properties will continue to drive development, particularly in student housing. It should be pointed out that, in 2023, banks and non-bank institutions lent to Poles over 25% more than in 2022. The value of mortgages granted increased the most, by as much as 45%. However, the legislative environment needs careful navigation to ensure it supports rather than hinders progress,” he opines. “The development of retail parks also presents a promising area for investment and growth; while there are hurdles to overcome, the prospects for Poland’s property market remain positive, with ample opportunity for innovative solutions and strategic investments,” he concludes.