Katowice is a leader in attracting foreign investors

According to the Business Environment Assessment Study, Katowice is included in the top four of the most advantageous areas for foreign investments. Already 450 companies have been acquired thanks to the offered tax relief. These companies have invested a total of over PLN 42 billion and created 80,000 new jobs.

The latest report by Antal, Cushman & Wakefield, Vastint and TDJ Estate - "Katowice's investment potential" as part of Business EnvironmentAssessmentStudy presents, for the first time, the assessment of the business environment in Katowice by decision-makers of Polish companies. It allows you to look at the Polish market from the business perspective and indicate the main trends in the economic development of the organization. The study analyzed seven factors that influence the attractiveness of cities and encourage investment. These are: infrastructure, office space, public administration support, educational potential, employment potential, business potential and the assessment of location as a place to live.

Stabilization despite the pandemic

In the third edition of the BEAS survey, Katowice ranked high. The average mark is 6.7 points on a 10-point scale. This places the agglomeration in the third place (ex aequo with Krakow) among other Polish cities studied. The highest scores were awarded to such aspects as office space (7.4 p), educational potential (6.9 p) and the assessment of location as a place to live (6.9 p).

In Katowice, we focus on the consistent implementation of the city's sustainable development policy in all economic and social areas. It is such long-term actions that have effectively protected most of the industries operating in the city from the effects of the crisis caused by the pandemic. We can also see that the most dynamically developing sectors of Katowice's economy are modern business services, construction of modern office buildings and industries based on new technologies. These sectors, not only because of their resilience to the crisis, but above all because of their role in stimulating the economic development of the city, can fully count on the support of the city authorities. This especially applies to companies that are potentially interested in starting or developing their business activities in Katowice and joining the group of investors - says Marcin Krupa, Mayor of Katowice.

The road that Katowice has traveled to become the modern capital of a metropolis with over 2 million inhabitants is an example of the transformation that has taken place throughout Poland. Katowice is not only a city with a population of around 300,000, but also the heart of the Metropolis GZM, bringing together 41 cities and municipalities, inhabited by nearly 2.3 million people.

Katowice is the capital of one of the most economically and demographically strong regions in Poland. At the same time, it represents the largest urbanized area with an area of over 1,500 km2 in the heart of Central and Eastern Europe, and according to reports from consulting companies, Katowice and the Metropolis of Upper Silesia - Zagłebiowska are the 5th largest market for the development of modern business services in Poland. Giants such as Fujitsu, IBM, PwC, ING and Rockwell Automation have their headquarters in Katowice. It is a metropolitan area which, thanks to high-class office spaces, strategic location between 3 airports and a developed communication network based on the Drogowa Trasa Średnicowa and A1 and A4 motorways, favors the rapid and effective growth of any business - comments Kamil Krępa, Leasing Director, TDJ Estate.

Expanding office space

The Katowice office market is characterized by stable development, despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The total supply of office space in the city is approximately 590,000 sq m. m2 at the end of 2020, and a record over 205,000 sq m is planned or under construction. m2. The last value seems to confirm the thesis about the city's incredible potential. In such a difficult time for the market, new investors are announcing the start of work on new buildings, and those who are already building are not slowing down. The reason may be one of the lowest vacancy rates in regional cities.

W nadchodzących latach możemy spodziewać się wzrostu tego wskaźnika ze względu na historyczny poziom powierzchni biurowej w budowie. Absorpcja tak dużej powierzchni na pewno będzie wymagała dłuższego czasu. Ciężko jest przewidzieć, ile to dokładnie zajmie, ze względu na nieprzewidywalną zmienną, jaką jest pandemia. Nie należy jednak sugerować się tym zbytnio, ponieważ zainteresowanie rynkiem nie słabnie. Nie jest to może bezpośrednio odzwierciedlone w skali najmu w tym roku,  ale pamiętajmy, że obecna sytuacja jest czymś nowym i decyzje podejmowane są znacznie wolniej – komentuje Radosław Kostka, Acquisition Manager Vastint Poland.

The real driving force behind the office market in Katowice is the unflagging demand of IT companies - this is due in particular to the enormous recruitment potential of the entire region and the successes achieved by companies existing on the market. Growth in this sector is very large and sometimes unpredictable, which is why it will be crucial for developers to provide flexible space, available in a relatively short time - adds Tomasz Dyba, Senior Negotiator, Cushman & Wakefield.

Growing educational potential

Eleven universities, including the largest state university in Silesia, guarantee a wide range of competences. Katowice has 51.2 thousand. students. Most of them specialize in the area of finance (7.4 thousand), then in the area of linguistics (4.1 thousand) and then in engineering (3.7 thousand). Human capital was assessed at 6.9 points on a ten-point scale.

Silesia has become one of the most important educational centers next to Warsaw, Kraków and Wrocław. Thanks to a well-developed educational infrastructure, we have highly qualified specialists in the region who are prepared to work. Educational facilities make the region attractive to investors who carefully analyze whether the market in which they want to establish their businesses has to offer employees with the competences they will be looking for. For several years, we have been observing a growing demand for specialists in the field of IT, finance and specialists with knowledge of foreign languages, which is the result of the development of companies that have decided to invest in the region and are present in it, and new investments - says Karolina Bucka, Team Leader, Antal IT Services.

Development of the Silesian labor market

The strengths of Katowice are staff in the area of analytical and sales competences, as well as specialists and managers in the IT area. For years, Katowice has enjoyed one of the lowest unemployment rates in Poland. Currently, despite the coronovirus pandemic, unemployment in the capital of the Silesian Voivodeship is still low. The city invests in new fields and professions and is constantly looking for people who are motivated and willing to work.

The Silesian market is largely based on new technologies. The potential of employment in production and engineering companies is provided by the Silesian University of Technology, which, as one of the largest technical universities in the country, educates highly qualified engineers valued on the labor market. It is the most active university in cooperation with business and industry - comments Artur Skiba, President of the Antal Management Board.

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About the study
The "Business Environment Assessment Study" survey was carried out using the CAWI method among the heads of 809 companies in Poland in the fourth quarter of 2020 A series of reports dedicated to major urban centers in Poland aims to describe the business reality in which companies operate. The material allows you to look at the Polish market from the business perspective and indicate the main trends in the economic development of enterprises. The report, prepared every year, contains information on the level of remuneration of specialists and managers on the Polish market. The full report is available at: www.investmentpotential.pl

About Antal
Antal is a leader in the recruitment of specialists and managers as well as HR consulting. The Antal brand has been present in Poland since 1996. Within the Antal Group there is a Polish company established in 1996 and a company opened in 2014 in the Czech Republic andEnloyd - in Hungary. In Poland, offices in Warsaw, Wrocław, Kraków, Poznań and Gdańsk carry out projects in Poland and abroad for the largest global and local enterprises from all sectors of the economy. As one of the first recruitment companies on the Polish market, we have introduced a matrix division of teams, thanks to which our consultants specialize in both sector and position recruitment. Currently, Antal has 10 recruitment divisions and teams advising companies in the field of employee evaluation and development, employer branding and market analyzes. In 2018, two innovative services were also launched: a platform for freelancers - REX and the Robot Employment Agency.

About Cushman & Wakefield
Cushman & Wakefield (NYSE: CWK) is a leading global real estate advisory firm providing services to tenants and owners of commercial real estate. Cushman & Wakefield is one of the largest real estate advisory firms, employing approximately 50,000 people in 400 offices and 60 countries around the world. In 2020, its revenues amounted to $ 7.8 billion. The most important services provided by the company include property, facility and project management, brokerage in space leasing, handling transactions on capital markets, appraisals and more. For more information, visit www.cushmanwakefield.com or on Twitter: @CushWake

About Vastint
Vastint Poland is part of the Vastint Group, an international organization operating on the European real estate market for over 30 years. The pillars of the company's activity are real estate portfolio management and the development of office, residential and hotel projects that provide a comfortable and sustainable environment for living, working and relaxing.

About TDJ Estate
TDJ Estate is part of TDJ - a family investment company operating in many sectors of the economy. TDJ Estate has been implementing housing, office and land development projects since 2011. The investor's portfolio includes projects located within the Upper Silesian-Zagłębie Metropolis, among others in Katowice - Osiedle Franciszkańskie and Franciszkańskie Południe in the Ligota district, multi-family complex Bardowskiego 1 on the estate Witosa and the First District located in the vicinity of the Culture Zone, as well as the Green Valley in Zabrze and Osiedle Wieszowa in the Tarnowskie Góry district. In the commercial sector, the company's flagship investment is the .KTW office complex located in the very center of the city, in the immediate vicinity of the Spodek Arena in Katowice. At TDJ Estate, we create spaces that positively affect people's quality of life at every step. We take responsibility for places with which we connect natively and in the long term. We design in accordance with the people first design principle. Please visit www.tdjestate.pl