About

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years?

The acquisition of 12 major shopping centres and retail parks in three tranches over three years in a deal valued at €692m. The M1 portfolio comprises of 12 dominant retail properties with 446,500 metres aquared of GLA and over 620 stores situated in densely populated catchments which are complementary to EPP’s existing assets. The execution of this transaction required careful planning and adherence to South African, Dutch, Luxembourgish and Polish legal and regulatory requirements, as well as the involvement of professionals from all four markets. The M1 deal will allow EPP to add approximately €49m NOI.

The second transaction was EPP’s entry into a joint venture with Henderson Park in three prime office locations in Poland – in Kraków, Poznań and Łódź. The deal was important for EPP because it allowed us to implement our strategy of recycling our office assets and to find a partner in the office property segment, Henderson Park, a company new to Poland. The total value of the portfolio sold to Henderson Park was €240m. The transaction required aligning all the joint venture documentation with a partner with no exposure on the Polish market who had no prior business relationship with EPP.

How important are “soft skills” or personal attributes outside of technical legal skill, and which “soft skills” do you feel are most important for an in-house lawyer to possess?

Soft skills and personal attributes are very important in building the team’s success and contribute to its overall performance. When we created EPP’s legal team, we not only looked at the level of know-how, but were seeking candidates with the right balance of skills, who share our company values and can make a meaningful impact on overall performance. Some of the soft skills we took into account included communications skills, an open mindset, initiative, responsibility and decision-making abilities. Everybody on the team needs to know that we’re on the same side and their contribution plays a part in our success.

What are the main qualities you look for in a potential new hire?

We concentrate on competences and professional background, but, as I mentioned above, what’s equally important is the ability to adapt to the new environment, work as a team and to share insights and learn from your colleagues. Percentage wise, the split would be 50% hard skills and 50% soft skills and personal attributes. Overall, we are seeking talented and creative individuals who want to be part of a diverse team with a great track-record in a very exciting market.

What advice would you give to any peers or colleagues working in the Polish market for the first time?

I don’t see any advice that would be market-specific and apply only to Poland. I think that anybody who wants to do business in the legal profession needs to face the same challenges as you’d find on any other global and well-connected market.

What can law firms in Poland, and the wider CEE region, do to win more business from you?

We expect initiative and the delivery of comprehensive legal services across four geographies (The Netherlands, Poland, Luxembourg and South Africa) from a business partner who is keen to provide a serious analysis of a given legal issue in the context of all the required legal and regulatory legislation. This means that you need to come to us with high-level of multinational experience and be ready to work with a passionate team of legal professionals working for the biggest shopping centre owner and operator in Poland.

FOCUS ON… REIT’S

Poland needs to pass REIT legislation

We have just passed the first anniversary of Poland ascending to the most developed countries list on the S&P, and while the worldwide conversation has turned to possible slowdowns, Poland is still probably one of the nations who are best poised to avoid negative growth or a recession. While the Polish government has room to make adjustments in debt levels and is taking actions that will stimulate consumer spending, there is some simple legislation that would have a very positive effect that it could do right now: namely passing REIT legislation.

A REIT, simply put, is a way everyday investors can invest in commercial real estate. REIT stands for real estate investment trust. When an investor buys shares in a REIT, they are getting small portions of real estate held in a portfolio managed by a corporation that is publicly traded.

Poland needs a REIT law. Polish citizens can’t invest in REITs because there isn’t any legislation allowing for it. This would be simple legislation for the government to pass and would have a positive effect on the economy, especially now that Poland, like the rest of the world, will have to deal with economic fallout from trade wars and slowdowns in our neighbours’ economies.

Our company, EPP, operates similar to a REIT in
the retail commercial property sector. The benefits of this type of investment are well outlined by my colleague in this article. EPP has been limited in terms of attracting investors due to the lack of this critical legislation. We are a proud Polish company and would like to be more accessible to Polish investors.

When one considers the massive benefits REITS provide to both professional investment companies and private citizens across a nation, we have to wonder why we don’t already have this legislation.