Last year, ING Services Polska (ISP) announced to expand its Katowice data center and to create a new research and development unit within a PLN 81 million project co-financed by the European Union. Now the company signed a lease agreement for new office space in the City. ISP will move to GPP Business Park.
The company will be located in the second building of the complex being currently under construction. The delivery date is scheduled for Q2 2014. ISP offices will cover 5 600 sq. meters making the facility 80% pre-let. The new center will start its operation in May 2014. Jones Lang LaSalle represented the tenant during the leasing negiotiations.
“ING Services Polska were looking for a well located, modern office space enabling the developing company to consolidate its activity in one of prestigious locations. GPP Business Park offers all these features and additionally will make available a temporary office space to be occupied by the tenant before the final move in May next year” – said Kamil Krępa, Consultant at Office Agency of Jones Lang LaSalle Poland.
In 2012 ING Services Polska established in Katowice the competence center for global security services for more ING business. The R&D workers are involved in development of existing ING’s IT software and research of new solutions that combine center’s capabilities with an advanced cloud based shared services platform, while the data center offers services related to backup and restore of databases and applications, security management as well as network connection hosting.
„Dynamic development of our company including the considerable growth of employees number (from 215 to 450 during the last five years) resulted the necessity of changing our location. We wanted to locate our company in one building having in mind the number of employees as well as the planned recruitment expansion. ING Services Polska, the strategic IT center of ING Group, is expected to be intesively developed. Thus, our new seat has to be in compliance with our development strategy and the image of an innovative company. We have chosen the building of GPP Business Park on Konduktorska St., which is one of the most modern office facilities in Poland” – commented Magdalena Nowicka, CEO of ING Services Polska.
This year, construction works on another two energy-efficient office buildings (Otto Stern and Kurt Alder) of GPP Business Park were launched. On Tuesday, the Upper Silesian Industrial Park which manages and owns GPP Business Park informed, that Goeppert-Mayer building (first phase of the office complex delivered in 2012) have obtained an „Outstanding” certificate within BRE Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM). The building has been awarded the highest possible mark as the first one in Poland.
Mirosław Czarnik, CEO of the Upper Silesian Industrial Park, said: “Goeppert-Maye is a sustainable office scheme, and the first of four buildings that together will make up the GPP Business Park. The complex extension, conducted in stages, allows us to tailor our offer to the tenants’ expansion plans. This is a huge asset for organizations that are negotiating major contracts and planning to increase employment and as a consequence office space take-up. The Goeppert-Mayer building was created with attention being paid to the slightest detail in terms of functionality and aesthetics, offering an extremely efficient energy management system as well as a friendly working environment. ING Services Polska’s decision to move into the second building in GPP Business Park, Stern, is not only a major success for us, but also confirms that our investment meets the expectations of the most demanding tenants from the BPO/SSC/R&D/ITO sector.”
Katowice with a total supply of 300 700 sq. meters of office space is the largest office market in the Silesia agglomeration and the fifth largest office market in Poland, behind Warsaw, Kraków, Wrocław and Tri-City. Katowice is also among the most prominent business services sector investment destinations. Investors appreciate access to highly-qualified staff, well-developed road infrastructure, the stable development of the office market and the local authorities’ openness to cooperation. Leading global BPO/SSC/ITO brands have already established their offices in the city. Additionally, the volume of office market transactions in the last 12 months indicates an increasing interest in Katowice as an alternative to more expansive locations, such as Kraków or Wrocław.