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EBRD to finance new office development in Warsaw
Construction of the Sienna Center, a new office development in Warsaw, Poland, will be financed by a US$ 20 million (ECU 15.5 million) senior and subordinated debt financing package arranged by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The loans will be made by the EBRD to Waresco Sp. z o.o., a Polish limited liability company, and the senior loan will be funded jointly by the EBRD and Belgium's Generale Bank.
Marc Mogull, Director of the EBRD's Property and Tourism Team, said: "Private sector development in Poland is accelerating, and Warsaw is increasingly seen not just as the country's business capital, but also as an important regional business centre. Clearly the supply of office space in Warsaw will need to expand greatly in the next few years to meet growing demand, and the type of space being delivered will need to change. The Sienna Center anticipates that evolution, and will provide the kind of large, efficient floor designs that major corporations and financial institutions need."
The Sienna Center project is sponsored by two of Belgium's leading property companies, N.V. Buelens and Compagnie Immobilière de Belgique, and marks the first project in Poland for both companies. It represents the EBRD's second office financing in Warsaw, following the highly successful Atrium Business Centre project, signed in 1994 and completed last year.
Gustave Buelens, President of N.V. Buelens, commented: "During the past 25 years, the Buelens Group has built a successful and respected development business in Belgium. Like others, we realised the unique opportunities created in eastern Europe by the changes five or six years ago, and have been exploring development opportunities in Warsaw since that time. We are confident that the Sienna Center is the right project in the right location at the right time, and welcome the support of the EBRD in making it a reality."
Brigitte Gouder de Beauregard, Director of Compagnie Immobilière de Belgique, echoed Mr Buelens' comments: "CIB made a strategic commitment to central and eastern Europe several years ago, and today has projects under development in Berlin and Budapest, along with our involvement in the Sienna Centre in Warsaw. Our group will continue to expand its development activities in the region, and we look forward to working again with the EBRD on future projects."
Warsaw continues to suffer from a severe shortage of modern office accommodation, with rental levels among the highest in Europe. Completion of the Sienna Center, scheduled for the end of 1997, is expected to help ease that shortage. The building will be located on Ulitsa Sienna in central Warsaw (just west of Al. Jana Pawla II) and will comprise 26,000 square metres of new, modern office space. The total project cost is expected to be approximately US$ 34 million (ECU 27 million).
The EBRD was established in 1991 to assist in the transition process in central and eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. At 30 November 1995, the Bank had committed ECU 5.7 billion in total investment to the region, including ECU 597.8 million to Poland.
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