Singaporean Family Office AT Capital Buys Warsaw Mixed-Use Project

AT Capital Group has completed its acquisition of a project in central Warsaw, Poland, where the Singaporean family office is mulling the development of a 41-storey mixed-use commercial and residential tower.

Savills advised the investment firm controlled by Indian-born billionaire Arvind Tiku on the transaction, according to a statement by the brokerage. AT Capital first agreed to purchase the site from Polish real estate investment and development firm Golub Gethouse in late 2021, European real estate news site Eurobuild reported.

AT Capital, which manages $2.5 billion of assets including $1 billion in real estate developments worldwide, is considering building a 140-metre-tall (159 foot) tower on the site at the intersection of Grzybowska and Żelazna streets in central Warsaw. Tiku, who is said to have made his fortune investing in oil and gas in Kazakhstan, is estimated by Forbed to rank as Singapore’s 18th wealthiest person, with a personal fortune of $2.5 billion.

Poland remains attractive to cross-borders investors, with commercial real estate investment in the eastern European nation rising 22 percent year-over-year in the first nine months of 2022 – and foreign sources of capital accounting for virtually all of the total, according to a report by CBRE.

Stalled Project Gets New Owner

Before the sale to AT Capital, Golub Gethouse had planned a hotel and residential project on the site in Poland’s capital, with construction expected to start in the second quarter of 2020.

The project was put on hold due to costs associated with a dispute over the attempted sale of the nearby Mennica Legacy Tower, an office building jointly owned by Golub Gethouse and the Mint of Poland, Eurobuild reported.

Designed by US-based studio Arquitectonica, the stalled project was envisioned as a prestigious 41-storey building that would include 500 rental apartments. A nine-storey podium would house a four-star hotel with 267 guest rooms.

AT Capital revealed only that it is exploring the development of a property dubbed Liberty Tower that would be a “mixed use commercial and residential complex” of the same height as the previously planned tower.

The site is located within the Wola business district, a block away from Browary Warszawskie, a 4.5-hectare urban renewal project centred around a brewery and indoor food hall, and Fabryka Norblina, a two-hectare multi-function complex on a former factory site.

“The plot, at the junction of Grzybowska and Żelazna streets, is one of the most prestigious and still undeveloped sites in Warsaw,” said Kamil Kowa, board member and head of corporate finance and valuation at Savills Poland in a statement.

“This transaction illustrates the growing importance of mixed-use developments in the Polish investment market,” he added.

Poland saw 82 commercial real estate investment deals in January through September of last year, with a total investment volume of €4.32 billion ($4.2 billion), up 22 percent compared to the same period of 2021, CBRE reported.

Domestic capital accounted for only 1 percent of transaction volume, while North American investors made up 43 percent and Europeans another 40 percent. Office assets drew roughly 39 percent of the investment volume, edging out industrial and logistics properties, according to the brokerage.

Family Office Goes West

AT Capital, the in-house asset management unit of AT Holdings, is owned by Tiku’s family trust and has interests spanning public market securities, real estate and renewable energy. The group invests in residential and commercial properties in India through its Gurugram-based Experion brand.

AT Capital’s European operations are headquartered in Amsterdam, where the investment firm is working with real estate developer AM and Cairn Real Estate Holdings to build the Bajes Kwartier project, a former prison complex in the centre of the Dutch capital that is giving rise to a 135,000 square metre (1.5 million square foot) mixed-use development.

The innovative redevelopment will include low- and middle-income housing, student accommodation, a hotel and a brewery, along with sustainable features. The consortium bought the site from the city of Amsterdam in 2018.

AT Capital has more than 400 employees across offices in India, Singapore, Dubai and the Netherlands, according to its corporate website.