Wrocław calling
Agnieszka Barteczko: How much easier is it to develop investments in Wrocław? What is the role of local authorities?
Maciej Dobosz: At the current speed of investment in Wrocław and the good prognosis for the next few years, the city has a chance to become the second-most-attractive location, next to Warsaw, for investment in the country. The fact that just last year the authorities managed to convince companies such as HP and LG into investing in the city proves the individual and professional approach to investors' needs. It was similar in our case.
What are the incentives and benefits waiting for investors in Wrocław? What obstacles might they expect?
The basic allowance for investors is the exemption from real-estate tax. Depending on the investment, the exemption might last even six years. This means specific and measurable benefits. Moreover, any investor in Wrocław has access to qualified employees. Apart from that, one has to remember that Wrocław is the fourth-biggest city in Poland, but the second as far as the budget is concerned (zł.2.2 billion), and the second when it comes to local investment. The purchasing power of a Wrocław citizen is 30 percent higher than the average for the whole country. Finally, it is extremely important that 65 percent of Wrocław citizens are in their production age. This is undoubtedly very encouraging data, which attracts many domestic and foreign investors.
How is Wrocław different from the other cities of Poland when it comes to real estate?
Wrocław's strong position is confirmed by independent rankings. The high ratings (BBB with positive perspective) of the Standard & Poor's Ratings Service is a result of a decreasing budget deficit and increasing investment. Besides, in the ranking of the Center for European Regional and Local Studies, which in its estimates takes into account such factors as technical infrastructure, business infrastructure, and accessibility, Wrocław is consistently classified as the highest A-class.
What is the potential of the Wrocław real-estate market?
The potential is reflected in the 20-30 percent increase in real-estate prices. Almost all the biggest construction and development companies work in the city and in the last few years many new investors from the property sector appeared. Recently, due to the amount of construction works, there was a deficit of cranes on construction sites.
