First Property signs leases at Gdynia office building

Property fund manager and investor First Property Group has signed leases covering 2,691 square metres, or 20% of the net internal area, of its office building in Gdynia, Poland, it announced on Friday.

The AIM-traded firm said the carried value of the building was €16m (£13.63m), following its write-down in March last year after it became 98% vacant, primarily due to Covid-19-related lockdowns.

It said the rent and service charge payable by tenants now totalled around €0.5m per annum, equating to about half the cost of operating the building.

“When fully let, it is anticipated that the building should yield some €2.5m per annum in rent and service charge,” First Property said in its statement.

It said the principal tenant, accounting for 15% of the net internal area and occupying the entire first floor, is the District Court in Gdynia.

The company said it expected the presence of the court to attract other legal advisers and practitioners to take space in the building.

“The building, which spans some 13,400 square metres of net internal area, is located at 21 ul. Podolska in prime central Gdynia, Poland's second-largest seaport after Gdansk.

“The Port of Gdynia has benefitted from considerable investment in recent years and is currently being enlarged further to enable it to handle Baltimax vessels, with corresponding investment in its road and rail infrastructure.”

At 0907 BST, shares in First Property Group were down 1.54% at 32p.

Reporting by Josh White at Sharecast.com.