Independent and looking east
Piotr Paciorek: What are Ghelamco's main goals in Poland?
Jeroen van der Toolen: We want to develop further in Warsaw and invest in four other major Polish markets, such as Kraków, Wrocław, Lódę and Poznaƒ. We have already begun an office project in Wrocław and we are close to finalizing a plot acquisition in Łódę. Our plan includes developing residential investments and we already own a plot on ul. Woronicza in Warsaw where we are planning on building approximately 300 apartments. Ghelamco will also develop a plot next to the Hilton Hotel on ul. Grzybowska, where we will deliver 80,000 sqm of office space along with 69,000 sqm of residential space. Of course, we finally plan to begin developing luxury apartments on ul. Foksal.
Do you consider the Polish market to be one that is developing?
I would say that the office market is a mature market and is still growing. If you look at the statistics of square meter per inhabitant and compare it to other European capitals, you will see that that there is still potential for further growth.
A number of international developers which operate in Poland have decided to enter the WSE. Does Ghelamco have similar plans?
We are a privately owned company and there is no discussion inside the company about entering the stock exchange. As long as we can finance everything with our own equity and bank loans, we will do things that way. We want to stay fully independent and be able to make our own decisions. All the company's profits are reinvested, and when you enter the stock exchange you have to pay dividends. There is a kind of fashion among developers to enter the stock exchange, but we do not want to follow this fashion.
What are your plans in Russia and Ukraine?
We want to grow the company and we are looking for ways it can expand. In Russia we currently have 235,000 sqm of warehouse space under construction that will be completed by the end of the year. In addition, we have a site, totalling 150,000 sqm, where we can build our second logistics project. Ghelamco is also looking for an opportunity to develop office space in Moscow and other Russian cities.
As for Ukraine, which is a much smaller market than Russia, this month we have started the first phase of a 50,000-sqm warehouse project in Kiev. By the end of this year, 20 to 25 percent of Ghelamco's operations will be dedicated to the Russian market and about 10 percent to the Ukrainian.
And what about the new EU member states - Bulgaria and Romania?
I know that many developers are starting operations in Romania, and we also plan to have a look there. However, with our growing operations in Poland, Russia and Ukraine, we need to have the proper manpower to work efficiently and it is better to do this in Russia and Ukraine, where we know a lot of opportunities are available. We have made a decision to focus on those markets. However, on top of this, we will look at Romania and Bulgaria. But no decision about starting any operations in either country has been made yet.
