Korean investor Eugene Investment & Securities has marked its entry into Europe with the acquisition of a 10,000sqm office building in Poland from Patrizia.

Eugene Investment has paid an undisclosed amount to acquire the FENIKS office building is located in Wola in western Warsaw.

The FENIKS was built in 2012 and is currently 85% leased.

Warburg-HIH Invest Real Estate, Korean asset manager JR AMC, Savills Investment Management, EY and Greenberg Traurig advised Eugene Investment on the acquisition.

Matthias Brodesser, head of transaction management international at Warburg-HIH Invest, said: “FENIKS is strategically located between the traditional central business district and the new financial and service district of Wola. This is precisely where the city is growing together.

“Warsaw is a vibrant market from many angles. This dynamism has a lot parallels that we have seen on evolving Berlin in the past. And this is exactly where we see the city in the next years ahead. We will continue to grow our portfolio here.”

HK Kim, managing director at Eugene Investment & Securities, said: “We see our investment in the Warsaw office market as a proxy for capturing growth in one of EU’s fastest-growing economies.

“Multinational corporations should continue to expand office space in Warsaw benefiting from the breadth of skilled labour and lower costs. We are eager to see Wola district’s continued expansion solidify its standing as the new central business district of Warsaw in the near future.”

Hyon Suk Jang, managing director at JR AMC, said: “With yields in Western Europe breaking historic records, the CEE has become a very appealing substitute whereby high yields can still be achieved, simultaneously minimizing any trade-off in building quality or macro risk profile.

“We are convinced Poland, and especially its capital, Warsaw, is a perfect example of such a destination and moving further ahead, strongly growing to become serious competition to traditional Western European cities.”