Echo Investment has signed a lease agreement concerning an area of nearly 9,000 sqm in the A4 Business Park office building on Francuska Street in Katowice. It is one of the largest transactions in Poland with regard to the regional market of office properties.

The contract with IBM is an important step for Echo Investment which confirms the company"s right approach to the development in regional cities, as well as the correctness of its analyses regarding individual locations, those concerning the BPO business in particular. A team of experts from the Jones Lang LaSalle international consultancy acted as the agent in the lease process. “We are very glad that such a prestigious company has chosen our project in Katowice. The contract signed confirmed top global standards of the office projects developed by Echo Investment. A4 Business Park provides our new tenant with optimal working conditions. We are proud that the first stage of A4 Business Park has been leased in full by IBM,” says Rafał Mazurczak, director of the Office and Hotel Department at Echo Investment. “The construction of the A4 Business Park office complex is a development opportunity for Katowice. The project is not just another interesting and modern office facility in the city centre. It is first of all a possibility of providing investors with office areas where new jobs can be created. The owners and the Management Board of Echo Investment are even happier about launching the project because of the fact that IBM has chosen this facility to be its seat. One of the largest and most important companies in the world is opening its Service Delivery Centre in Katowice and consequently it is also about to employ approx. 2,000 people. I am very happy that we received the decision about IBM developing its company in the capital of Upper Silesia at the start of the construction of Echo Investment"s office buildings. Now it is not just a token of recognition for our region but also a confirmation that Katowice and Silesia have a lot of social and economic potential. I would like to greet the owners and the Management Board of Echo Investment, as well as all those who supervise the construction of A4 Business Park and I hope that the construction will be undisturbed and the investment process will be successful,” says Piotr Uszok, mayor of Katowice. The new IBM centre will join a network of strategic IMB delivery centres which render a broad range of IT services including: the management of server operating systems, system protection and security, end-user services including the maintenance and monitoring of IT equipment and software systems. The centre started its operations in August 2013. “Since 2009 when we opened an IBM delivery centre in Wrocław, the scope and reach of our offer of services has been considerably extended. The centre in Katowice will be built in accordance with IBM"s global standards in order to provide our clients with top quality services,” said Stef Stangret, director of IBM Service Delivery Centres in Poland. Julita Spychalska, national director, Corporate Advisory, Jones Lang LaSalle comments: “We are happy that we were able to support IBM in finalizing one of the largest lease transactions concerning office space in Poland this year. Due to its plans to develop its business in Poland IBM was looking for a new location and modern top class office space. The office market in Katowice has presented an offer which fulfilled these criteria and has confirmed that there is supply and demand for large modern office areas which can be arranged in accordance with tenants" needs. IBM"s decision concerning the development of its structures in Katowice indicates that Katowice has a strong position on the map of locations and investments of the modern BPO sector.” Footage is available on Echo Investment"s YouTube channel A4 Business Park is being developed on Francuska Street in Katowice, near an exit from the A4 motorway. It is a modern business park which consists of three office buildings and a separate multi-storey car park. The first stage of the project is a 7-storey office building with an area of app. 9,000 sqm.
In the spring earlier this year the office building obtained a BREEAM Interim certificate with a "very good" grade and a very high score of 64.62 pct.
The design of A4 Business Park has been developed by the DDJM architectural studio of Kraków. The general contractor of the shell of the first stage is Remax Construct. The completion of the first stage of A4 Business Park is planned for Q1 2014.  www.a4businesspark.pl IBM is one of the largest IT companies in the world, it has been the leader in terms of supporting innovativeness in business for more than 80 years. The offer of the company includes a broad range of consulting and IT services, software as well as IT systems and technologies. IBM Polska Sp. z o.o. has been operating since 1991. The headquarters of the company is located in Warsaw and it has branches in Katowice, Poznań, Wrocław and Kraków. Changing its strategy and developing its competences in terms of the service offer makes it possible for the company to satisfy the market"s needs comprehensively – from strategic consultancy, to the supply of appropriate IT solutions, to the comprehensive IT infrastructure management as part of outsourcing services. Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE: JLL) is an international company which renders comprehensive services on the property market and enables companies which are interested in leasing, trading or investing on the market to grow. Jones Lang LaSalle services clients in 70 countries, in over 1,000 locations worldwide. Jones Lang LaSalle manages facilities with a combined area in excess of 240 mln sqm all over the world.