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Audley Developments Polska is a Polish-registered property development company formed by the directors of Audley and a small team of Polish born property specialists.
Audley Developments Polska was formed to exploit the opportunities afforded by the emerging property markets in Eastern Europe and Poland in particular.
Following a dearth of investment during the pre-EU years, local demand for quality retail development coincides with the strategic objectives of key UK and European retailers to expand into these markets.
With offices in the UK and Poland, Audley Polska is proving to be effective in locating suitable sites, and has the added benefit of detailed knowledge of the Polish planning regime as well as expertise in legal matters. Audley Polska is well placed to react quickly to rapidly changing situations on the ground.
Since its inception in 2007, Audley Developments Polska has concentrated on the food retail sector and has built close working relationships with key retailers such as Tesco Polska, Biedronka and MarcPol. Food retailing is probably the single most important ingredient in a well-let retail scheme in Poland, and it is this strategy, combined with a clear knowledge and understanding of such retailers’ requirements, which has enabled Audley to create a successful retail environment in locations throughout southern Poland.
The first such scheme assembled by Audley was in the city of Kluczbork, located in the Opolskie region on the S11 carriageway north east of Opole. Audley worked closely with the local Council in formulating a new Masterplan for the area, and created a new shopping centre and retail park of circa 10,000 m2 anchored by Tesco. The scheme was sold to a Polish company, PA Nova, and opened for trade in August 2012.
Following completion of Kluczbork, Audley worked with a local builder/developer in Raciborz in assembling a retail scheme of circa 3,300 m2 anchored by Biedronka. This scheme was forward-sold to Portico Investments who completed the purchase in October 2012. A further development for Biedronka, this time a solus store, was also assembled and forward-sold to the German fund Saller. This transaction completed shortly afterwards in November 2013.
Continuing this strategy, Audley has begun working closely with the Polish food retailer, MarcPol, and has secured two further sites in southern Poland. The first of these is located in Zory, just south of Katowice. The scheme has Masterplan status for retail development over 2,000 m2 and a Building Permit for a retail scheme of circa 4,500 m2 was granted in November this year. The scheme is to be anchored by MarcPol, and a retail park comprising Rossmann, Pepco, Neonet and others is proposed alongside. Construction on site is planned to commence in January 2013 with completion before the end of the year. The second site is located in Nowy Targ, not far from the mountain resort of Zakopane. A scheme which will be similar in size and nature to that in Zory is proposed once the site has a valid Masterplan allocation which is expected in February 2013.
In addition to the above, Audley is actively pursuing opportunities for Tesco and MarcPol in locations such as Krosno, Czeladz and Myslowice where it hopes to build on the successful platform it has created by concentrating on close co-operation with key retailers who are active in the Polish market. |
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