History
Rhys and Andrew leave DTZ to set up Celtic Asset Management (CAM) in Warsaw serving Inter Ikea as its main client. Craig joins a short time later to assist in leasing and concentrate on other clients. 70,000sq.m of office and Hotel projects undertaken and let in Poland and Lithuania. Part of the portfolio was sold to SEB for 72m Euro. Tenants included Hewlett Packard, Samsung, UPC, Pramerica, PWC, Fiat, Nestle, ABN AMRO and Accor. In addition acquired 5.2ha. which is now developed as the 90,000sq.m Wisniowy Gardens, and let the 32,000sq.m Reform Plaza in Warsaw.
Instructed by NCC to asset manage and sell a portfolio of 90,000sq.m of offices, hotels and retail in Warsaw, Budapest, Berlin, Dortmund, Dusseldorf, Dortmund, and Brussels. The portfolio was successfully developed and let, and subsequently disposed of for over 215m Euro.
Sold 50% of CAM to IOG and set up a fund for Morley. Invested 500m Euro on their behalf in multi let industrial property in Central Europe and subsequently asset managed the portfolio. IOG sold to Teesland and then Valad before we exited our remaining shareholding to Valad.
Set up and owned 40% of Savills Central Europe before selling to Savills UK.
Together with Swedish partners, set up Calvin Investments to undertake an apartment development at Wilcza 72 in central Warsaw which was eventually sold for ca 5m Euro.
Began co-operation with Laxey Partners, a London based hedge fund and purchased and developed a number of property assets in Poland, Hungary and the Balkans under the Celtic Asset Management banner. Fund managed the East European Development Fund, New Europe Land Fund, Vampire Holdings Ltd leading to a large number of property acquisitions and sales. Investors were predominantly Ivy League endowment funds, and other US based institutions. Ca. 120m of equity was invested in predominantly Polish office, warehouse and residential projects including 60m Euros invested in the 58ha. Ursus tractor factory which was eventually converted into residential development land for 14,000 units.
Merger of Celtic Asset Management and various funds to form Celtic Property Development SA (CPD) in the BVI. At this point the funds were showing IRRs of 78% on average.
Celtic Property Development SA listed on the Frankfurt Stock exchange.
CPD completed a project to manage and dispose of part of a portfolio of 124 warehouses for TDG, the UK´s fourth largest distributor of goods and during and 18 month period disposed of assets with a value of £126 mln in the UK, Netherlands and Belgium before the company was sold by its owners. CPD was also appointed to manage and dispose of 369 assets in Italy for the Spazio Industriale fund, and set up a team based in Milan which went on to complete sales of over € 250 mln. A total of ca. 500 properties having a combined value of ca. Euro 1 bn. and geographically situated in Italy, UK, Spain, Poland, Belgium, The Netherlands and Ireland were asset managed.
Listing successfully moved to the Warsaw Stock Exchange. By this point CPD was developing, leasing and selling some 75,000 sq.m of office projects in Poland.
Undertook a number of private joint venture projects with Laxey Partners on a 50/50 basis. These included a number of TPSA properties, Universal in Lodz, Neptune in Gdansk, and Chielmec in Walbrzych together with a number of agricultural sites which were converted to residential, split up into individual sites and sold.
Undertook a number of property investments in the UK with Laxey Partners under the Red Lion Properties banner. Projects included the purchase of the Procter and Gamble headquarters in the UK and an industrial estate in Petersfield. Shares in the company were successfully sold in 2013.
Andrew, Rhys and Craig resign of their board positions in Celtic Property Developments SA, subsidiary companies and Laxey related funds and dispose of their 20% interest in the company.
Celtic Property Development SA is rebranded as CPD SA and concentrates on the development of Nextcity in Ursus to residential.
Celtic Property formed and purchases its first asset, a 1000sq.m development office building in Wolska, Warsaw. The property was sold to a private investor in 2017 following full refurbishment and letting.
Celtic Property purchases the 7.8 ha Celtic Park Piaseczno, Kinskopowa 1, Piaseczno, Warsaw for 17.1m. With a further PLN. 21,5m, the 24,000sq.m warehouse and office park is refurbished and redeveloped to give 34,600 sq.m of modern office and warehousing. Today the property is 95% let and recently valued at 142m PLN by an independent third party. Planning permission has been received for a further 7900sq.m of office and warehousing.
The self-storage concept Celtic Self Storage (CSS) is started at Celtic Park Piaseczno and organically grown. Today the company has ca 700 units which are 85% let to a variety of tenants and 88 shipping containers. The company has no debt and provides great synergy with the office and warehouse park.
Celtic Property purchases the 10,500 sq.m. former ‘Witek meble’ unit prominent on the S7 Highway, by Kolejowa 348, Łomianki, Warsaw. The building is refurbished and converted to a Self Storage and small warehouse and retail facility.