HOCHTIEF Polska Sp. z o.o. and LHI Leasing Polska have signed a contract with CANAL+ Cyfrowy for the construction and leasing of a new office building in Warsaw, which will become the new head office of that popular Polish broadcaster and TV operator.
The modern office building, all of which is going to be used by CANAL + Cyfrowy Sp. z o.o., is part of a portfolio of Polish commercial real estate built by LHI Leasing Polska Sp. z o.o. for the investors of LHI Leasing Group.
In the investment process, HOCHTIEF Polska acts as the developer and the general contractor of the construction work. The development process is handled by the Client Solutions Department of HOCHTIEF Polska. The construction work is scheduled to start in January this year and will be carried out by HOCHTIEF Polska Budokor Branch. LHI Leasing Polska Sp. z o.o. will be represented in the construction process by LHI Real Estate Management GmbH. CANAL+ Cyfrowy was represented in the course of the negotiations with HOCHTIEF Polska and LHI Leasing by Colliers International.
The five floor office building will have a total area of 14,100 sqm (approx. 7,600 sqm of lease space, plus an underground car park for 148 vehicles) and will be located in the Warsaw district of Stegny at 4 Pory St. The building designed by Kazimierski and Ryba will not only include office space but also a television studio with the necessary technical facilities, a broadcasting centre and a customer service centre.
The standalone building will be a used exclusively by CANAL+ Cyfrowy. With facades finished predominantly in glass, steel and concrete, it is going to have a modern and simple form and a light structure.
The interiors have been tailored to the needs of CANAL+ Cyfrowy. An assumption was made that the new premises would comprise all the departments of the organization in one place, except for the call centre and the set top box equipment service point. Should the operator need to expand the office space available, the design allows adding two extra stories to the initial building.
“We see the construction of the new seat of head offices of CANAL+ Cyfrowy as an important stage of the our business development. HOCHTIEF Polska, which has so far been known as a general building contractor, is now following the guidelines of the HOCHTIEF Group and entering the development business. We are glad that as a company, together with LHI Leasing we are now able to take part in the implementation of the entire investment process, starting from the purchase of the construction lot through negotiations and execution of both the lease and the sale contract and through the construction process to the commissioning of the building to the final user. Our cooperation with such top market players as CANAL+ Cyfrowy, LHI Leasing Polska and Colliers International, all of them companies with broad expertise in the business, allows us to expect a smooth progress of project implementation, based on partner relationships,” says Andrzej Redo, Head of Client Solutions Department of HOCHTIEF Polska.
The project will take approx. 13 months to complete. The building will be commissioned and put into use by CANAL+ Cyfrowy in Q1 2008.
“For the last 12 years our head office has not changed its location, which is at 5 Kawalerii St. Over that period we have developed our company so much that it has become a must for us to find new space for our daily business. We would like the new headquarters to be our pride as well a place friendly both to the staff working there and to our customers invited to the customer service centre located on the ground floor,” said Jacques Aymar de Roquefeuil, Managing Director of CANAL+ Cyfrowy.
“The modern and interesting architecture, an excellent location, a prestigious lessee – all those factors make the new head office of CANAL+ Cyfrowy in Poland a prominent piece of our portfolio of the Polish commercial real estate available to the investors of LHI Leasing Group. We are deeply convinced that the partner relationships with HOCHTIEF Polska will allow a smooth and timely completion of the project," said Robert Mandżunowski, CEO of LHI Leasing Polska Sp. z o.o.
„It has been the first time we mediated such a transaction since the very moment the idea was born,” remarks Paweł Skałba, Director at Office Space Department of Colliers.
"The building has been designed with the special needs of television in mind. It is going to meet all the requirements set by CANAL+,” he adds.