Pekao and Pirelli join forces

Pirelli Pekao Real Estate, 75-percent owned by the Italian asset management company Pirelli Real Estate, and 25-percent owned by Bank Pekao from the Unicredit Group, was launched last week following clearance from Poland's antitrust authorities. The new company comes as a result of Pirelli Real Estate's acquisition of 75 percent of Pekao Development from Bank Pekao for approximately EUR 20  (zł.79.4) million.

"Poland is our strategic focus. We want to bring an integrated offer into all sectors of the real estate market and replicate the quality of products in Italy. We do not have specific financial targets but we want to invest a significant amount of money. We will not miss an opportunity because of lack of capital," said the general manager of Pirelli Real Estate, Olivier De Poulpiquet. "We want to be bigger than anyone else," he vows.

Pirelli Real Estate started its expansion in Europe in 2005, when it established P&K Real Estate in Germany. Now the company plans to use Poland as a platform for further expansion in CEE. "We are starting from Warsaw and then we will move to the four biggest cities in Poland, then further to Eastern Europe," said Pirelli Real Estate's CEO, Carlo Alessandro Puri Negri, who is not discouraged by the strong competition in the Polish property market. "Even if it is competitive in Warsaw, it is not that competitive in other cities," he claims.

Although Pirelli assures they want to achieve the leading position in all real-estate market segments, the company admits their primary focus will be residential. Pirelli Real Estate has already completed its first acquisitions, which include a residential plot of about 150,000 sqm in Warsaw and an area of 20,000 sqm in Gdańsk, for a total of EUR 33 (zł.131) million. As a result the company's portfolio has grown to about 290,000 sqm, the main projects being Wilanów-Park, Banderii, and Okopowa. The company is also interested in building homes in Poznań and Wrocław.

"We always want to have the strongest partner," comments the president of Bank Pekao, Jan Krzysztof Bielecki. "[Bank Pekao] will be able to finance Pirelli's projects and also to secure financing for Polish families purchasing real estate."

The management board of Pirelli Pekao Real Estate is made up of Ryszard Danielewicz, the former president of Pekao Development, and Salvatore Ruoppolo. The seven-person sepervisory board is currently drafting a strategy for the company.