CEE briefing: how to spend €500m

Warsaw's office market received strong but not unanimous endorsement when a panel of property professionals at PropertyEU's latest CEE Investment Briefing were asked how they would spend a fictional €500 mln in the region.

Neil Gregory-Eaves, international director Eastern Europe at Colliers International, positioned himself in the pro-Warsaw camp during the event, which was held at the London headquarters of law firm Nabarro on 24 September.

The hypothetical plan involved using leverage to give spending power of between €1 bn and €1.2 bn. Gregory-Eaves said the new metro line being built in Warsaw would have a big impact on the office sector. 'I would buy a new Skanska-developed office building on a metro station. I would then probably extend that conversation with Skanska to a few of the regional cities and to Budapest.'

The Colliers director added that he would try to work out a deal on an asset such as the new Oracle building in Bucharest to bring his expenditure on the office sector to €500-600 mln.

Gregory-Eaves said he would also seek to buy shopping centres that 'required work' in capital cities and team up with retail specialists to add value to the assets. The final element of his investment plan related to distribution centres on Poland's western border.

Martin Erbe, head of property finance in northern and central Europe for German financier Helaba, agreed with most of choices outlined by Gregory-Eaves. Asked he if would provide financing, he replied, ''For most of the product? Certainly. For some of the markets? Certainly.'

However, Erbe said he would not invest much in the office sector in Poland, and Warsaw in particular. Instead, he would focus on logistics and retail.

He would also look beyond Poland. 'I would invest some of the money in Romania and Hungary. I think these countries have an upside but it's a question of timing. We would have to wait at least untiI after the next election in Hungary.' Erbe added he would assign some equity to the Czech Republic and Slovakia to ensure not to put 'all the eggs in one basket'.

Daniel Harris, managing director Europe and CE at Tristan Capital Partners, re-iterated the case for Warsaw offices, where Tristan, in partnership with Allianz Real Estate, acquired the Warsaw Financial Center last year. 'Unlike Martin (Erbe), I think Warsaw is still a good bet if you pick the right assets,' he said. Harris noted that several skyscraper projects have been proposed in the Polish capital but said only one or two would actually be built.

The Tristan director said he would also put some money in shopping centres with value-add potential and in logistics.

Tim Norman, emerging Europe chairman of opportunistic investor Europa Capital, said his company divided its attention equally between Central Europe and South-Eastern Europe. The focus, he said, was on secondary retail, with an emphasis on retail parks, and residential property which generated a ‘self-liquidating ‘ pipeline.