Continuing on from 2016 we had another record breaking year across our two offices. Krakow increased its revenues by 27% year on year, solid growth in the context of the office being established since 2004. Warsaw increased its revenues by 115% year on year — an even more significant performance albeit starting from a lower base given it only opened in 2014.
We consolidated several of our developer relationships in particular with Hines in Krakow wherein we were able to close a multi-unit transaction to a foreign boutique investment fund. Since this time we have used this as a springboard to increase our contact with developers in both Krakow and Warsaw and are currently negotiating two significant multi-unit transactions with more expected during 2018.
The other side of this coin has been the re-emergence of private and institutional investors into the Polish market. Concentrated on the current capital (Warsaw) and the former capital (Krakow) we have been contacted by over a dozen such investors over the past 12 months and are currently working closely with them in finding suitable opportunities that match their investment profiles. These range from individual investors looking for 5–10 apartments right through to institutional funds looking to establish a long-term rental portfolio numbering in the hundreds and eventually thousands.
This leads us on to the specifics of the Private Rented Sector which has been a particular highlight of the last year. Since our decision in late 2016 to focus on PRS and the consequent repositioning of our property management department to reflect a larger scale more complex asset management approach we have dedicated considerable time and resources in advising various entities and laying the ground work to take on a considerable number of properties over the coming years. We look forward to working with and advising more Polish and foreign private and institutional investors to this end over the coming months and years.
The biggest highlight has once again been the immense contribution of the Hamilton May team which has grown considerably across both offices. We have over the past year added 4 members to the business development team. Our team now numbers close to 50 property professionals who work in unison and tirelessly to ensure our clients and their properties are in safe hands. This teamwork culminated in the Europaproperty CEE Award for best Local Agency in 2017. A big thank you to our teams in Krakow and Warsaw and indeed to the clients who trust us each and every day.
