UBM has revised the plans for its next Warsaw project. Instead of an office scheme, the company will develop a new economy hotel for an undisclosed international operator in the city’s CBD. UBM is currently working to secure all permits for the 250-room hotel, set to go up at the corner of Twarda, Żelazna and Złota streets. UBM expects to break ground in the first quarter of 2016, with completion expected in the first quarter of 2018. “We have already secured bank financing for the project, which is expected to be released within the next two months,” says UBM’s CEO, Karl Bier.
At the same time, UBM secured a buyer for its Wrocław hotel project. While it refuses to provide any further details on the transaction, the company says the deal has already been signed with a local investor. “As soon as it’s completed, which is expected in 2017, Poleczki Business Park will also be sold off,” says Bier. The project will offer an impressive 200,000 sqm of office space in seven phases. The third phase is set for completion in the third quarter of this year.
This is in line with the company’s wide-scale strategy to offload its portfolio. “After bringing together Strauss and PORR, UBM is now implementing a new strategy focused on development activity and raising capital, instead of building our portfolio,” says Bier. “We have a portfolio of 18 office and hotel products, worth €700m, located in Poland, Germany, Austria and France.”
