Swedish fund manager Niam has acquired a portfolio of four offices in two Polish regional cities from Stockholm-based construction-developer Skanska for about €160 mln.

Swedish fund manager Niam has acquired a portfolio of four offices in two Polish regional cities from Stockholm-based construction-developer Skanska for about €160 mln.

A fund managed by Niam purchased two investments in Krakow, Kapelanka 42 A and Axis, as well as buildings A and B at the Silesia Business Park complex in Katowice from Skanska Commercial Development Europe.

The transaction is the largest to be conducted this year in the CEE office market and the biggest in the history of Skanska's activity in this region. Put up for sale in March, the four-building offer provided more than 63,000 m2 of office space.

'Niam is happy to acquire a portfolio of A-class buildings with a strong tenant mix from the leading developer in the region,' said Niam CEO Johan Bergman.

'Our first portfolio sale in the CEE region confirms the trend of increasing investor interest in the Polish regional markets,' said Adrian Karczewicz, transaction director at Skanska Commercial Development Europe.

Skanska was supported in the sales process by international consulting firms CBRE and Colliers International, who were instructed as exclusive agents for the transaction. Legal advice was provided to the developer by Dentons and to Niam by Linklaters.

Regional strength
Regional cities continue to strengthen their position on the CEE investment map, especially in Poland, where almost 60% of transactions in the first half of 2015 were concluded outside of the capital.

The sale of the portfolio is an important step in the business activity of Skanska Commercial Development Europe. In the next few years, the company intends to further strengthen its position by investing in Polish regional cities and the CEE markets.

Skanska is currently working on five office projects in the Polish cities Warsaw, Poznan, Katowice, Krakow and Lodz and is also active in the capitals of Hungary, the Czech Republic and Romania.