Catalyst Capital acquires Moniuszki tower in Warsaw

European fund manager Catalyst Capital has bought the Moniuszki tower in Warsaw from BPT Optima, a real estate investment fund managed by BPT Asset Management. The companies agreed to keep the financial details confidential. Senior debt for the purchase was provided by Nordea Bank.

Built in 2002, the 22-storey scheme is located in the centre of the Polish capital and offers 11,600 m² of space currently leased to Polish telecommunications operator Telekomunikacja Polska. The property is set to be fully re-marketed during 2013 when Telekomunikacja Polska is expected to relocate to its new campus.

BPT said the disposal is part of its medium-term strategy to refocus and deleverage BPT Optima.

'Moniuszki Tower is an attractive building with a lot of asset management potential. However,' said Antanas Anskaitis, fund manager of BPT Optima, 'at this stage our focus is reducing the BPT Optima portfolio and limiting our exposure to the refurbishment risk linked to the expiry of the lease term with the building's single tenant.'

He added: 'This transaction goes to show that there is buyer interest in the market and exits can be performed not only for core assets.'

BPT Optima intends to continue its divestment strategy in 2012. The fund currently owns five other office buildings in the Polish capital with a total portfolio size of close to 100,000 m² of prime office space. Earlier this year, it also divested the Valdemara Rimi hypermarket in Riga, Latvia. BPT Optima, which focuses on Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, is fully invested, having had its final closing in January 2008.

'This purchase reflects our confidence both in the underlying strength of the Polish economy in these current times and in our intent to invest further funds into the Polish retail and office market,' added Kean Hird, partner at Catalyst Capital.

CBRE and Jones Lang LaSalle acted as commercial advisors for Catalyst and BPT on this transaction.