TP moves house

Telekomunikacja Polska (TP), Poland's chief provider of telecommunications services, will soon move out of its current headquarters in the center of Warsaw and a few other buildings that it currently occupies. The rationale behind the move is to concentrate the firm's workers in one office complex and thus increase operational efficiency.

"Construction of a new headquarters is aimed to increase integration by concentrating operations of the groups' firms, including TP and PTK Centertel, in one modern and more functional location," said Wojciech Jabczyński, head of the press office of TP Group. "The move is also meant to decrease the costs resulting from the maintenance and rental of the currently occupied parts of the buildings," he added.

The company is now set to start negotiations with developers for the provision of up to 50,000 sqm of modern office space located on the outskirts of Warsaw, but offering good transportation links with the rest of the city. A number of investors have already expressed their willingness to cooperate with TP. The transaction, when concluded, will be the largest of its kind in Poland. TP plans to move into the new buildings by the beginning of 2011.

By that time, the firm hopes to sell its current headquarters, a 31-storey tower located on ul. Twarda in Warsaw's Śródmieście district and offering 28,000 sqm of usable space. It will also look to sell another 21-storey building located in Śródmieście and a five-storey building in Mokotów.

TP constitutes the core of the Telekomunikacja Polska Group, the largest telecommunications group in Central Europe. It came into existence in 1991 and was privatized and entered the Warsaw Stock Exchange in 1998. The company's largest shareholder is France Telecom, with 47.5 percent of shares.

Adam Zdrodowski