PL

Outgrowing the Hilton

Eurobuild Awards
The first Eurobuild Gala and Eurobuild Awards are already a slightly fading memory for the organisers, but – to our surprise – some guests and winners remember them quite well. How have our flagship event and the entire sector developed during the last decade? What paths have those who were there the first time and the organisers themselves since taken?

Let’s relive the moment: we all gathered at the first Gala on a January evening in 2010 to review the previous twelve months. The Hilton Hotel in central Warsaw was bursting at the seams in order to accommodate the several hundred guests who – possibly mostly out of curiosity – wanted to see what Eurobuild had come up with this time. In the run-up to the event a jury of around 100 experts selected the best performers in 17 categories, while tenants chose the winners in three. An award for outstanding achievement was also presented. It was only at the next few ceremonies that prizes were also awarded by the audience of the Gala. “I remember the first few Eurobuild Galas quite well because I was always impressed by their professionalism,” recalls Maciej Tuszyński, now a senior partner at Griffin Property Finance. “If my memory serves me well [it does – editor’s note], the first ceremony at the Warsaw Hilton was hosted by Richard Stephens, and guests could see the nominees and jurors in an animated slide show – ten years ago an event organised with such attention to detail was fairly uncommon, and it was actually something of a sensation in terms of events in our sector. The Eurobuild Awards were in their infancy back then, but they certainly started at the right level,” he believes.

“From the very beginning, the Eurobuild Gala was conceived as a large format event, and each subsequent wave of success was larger and even more memorable,” agrees Daniel Kopania, a partner and head of the real estate practice at Clifford Chance’s Warsaw office. “After the sixth Gala, some guests started to joke that if the event kept growing at the rate it was, it would soon have to be moved to the National Stadium,” he adds.



Eurobuild shows its support for the Iskierka foundation

Daniel touches upon a sensitive point for the organisers. In fact, it gradually became clear that the Warsaw Hilton, which hosted the first few Eurobuild Awards Galas, would soon be unable to fit everyone in. Therefore, the Eurobuild Conferences department had to look for an equally distinguished but certainly more spacious alternative almost from the very beginning. It turned out that there was not much choice in the capital city. And, to be honest, in the end there was no other alternative: the only building capable of accommodating a thousand guests and at the same time with a standard of service at the right level was the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel & Conference Centre Warsaw in the city’s Wawer district. That’s where the Eurobuild Gala and its guests moved in 2015, and is where it is still held, although even its dimensions, which stunned us all at the beginning, are also no longer sufficient. And so the number of guests, unfortunately, now has to be restricted.

“The most eminent figures in Polish real estate attend the Gala each year, which is probably the best indication of the recognition it enjoys. As a juror, I appreciate that the awards categories are carefully devised to reflect changing market trends. I have a special fondness for the Gala because the real estate law practice I’ve led at Clifford Chance for almost ten years has grown together with it. The Gala has always been a great opportunity for me to celebrate our success with the team and clients as well as to admire the successes of others. We have not missed one so far and we can’t wait for the next one, which is the tenth anniversary of the event this time round,” declares Daniel Kopania. Roman Skowroński, now the managing director of Peakside Capital Advisors, also took part in the first Gala as a juror assessing the projects nominated. “For the last ten years I have been deeply involved with the real estate sector. While working for the leading companies on this market, I’ve had the opportunity to observe the amazing pace and scale of the development of the European warehouse market. I currently manage Peakside Capital in Poland. The company has now entered the industrial market, where it wants to build a real estate portfolio through both acquisitions and development projects,” emphasises Roman Skowroński.



Roman Skowroński is picking up an award for Prologis Sochaczew in 2012

Adrian Karczewicz, the head of the CEE divestments department at Skanska Commercial Development Europe, also remembers the first few Galas fondly. “I appreciate the fact that Eurobuild has always approached all the rankings transparently and presented annual awards for the sector based on reliable data collected in cooperation with external partners,” he insists. “The last ten years have been marked by huge growth for Skanska. A decade ago we wouldn’t have thought that we would someday be recognised as one of the largest office developers in Europe. Ten years ago, Skanska introduced green building standards and the LEED certificate to the region. Today, we are committed to not only caring for the environment but also for the well-being of the clients in our buildings. Two of our buildings – Visionary in Prague and Warsaw’s Spark – were the first Well-certified buildings in Central and Eastern Europe,” points out Adrian Karczewicz.

It is also interesting to take a look at the Gala from the point of view of a foreigner. “I suppose the biggest change is the international nature of the Gala today compared to ten years ago,” believes John Palmer, the head of the industrial investment department at Savills Poland. “Poland is a must-have location for investors and global occupiers as well as developers today. A decade ago Poland’s status as a sustainable location was clouded with uncertainty. But now the Gala has become a truly international event hosting faces from all over the world,” he adds. “Both the real estate sector and the entire world have advanced so much technologically that current events can’t be compared to those organised ten years ago. It would be unfair to do so. But one thing is certain: through the organiser’s knowledge, experience and its uncanny feel for the market, the Eurobuild Awards Gala has firmly established itself as the most important event in the sector,” claims Roman Skowroński.

“Through each of the ten ceremonies, the real estate market has developed even further. Each year, we have been able to acknowledge and reward the successes of companies throughout the year as well as the latest milestones in their histories. Now, to mark the first decade of the Awards, is the perfect occasion for looking at how individual players have established themselves and where they stand, because the annual vote has different rules to those of the awards for the entire decade,” explains Katarzyna Matejuk, the director of Eurobuild Conferences. “We, as the organisers, have changed along with the market’s own growing expectations over the last decade, but we can assure you that we have not been resting on our laurels and will continue, as before, to make our contribution to honouring the achievements of the real estate market. And so, on December 3rd we will meet again to spend the evening together to do precisely this,” invites Katarzyna Matejuk.

The excitement generated by the nominations up to the announcement of the winners has not diminished from one year to the next; on the contrary – the number of companies and people aspiring to win a Eurobuild Award shows that the prestige of the event has continued to grow, as has its scope, prompting the organisers to alter the regulations each year. How many ceremonies still lie ahead of us? That also depends on you, our readers and partners – and on real estate investors, who really need to build a larger venue for the Gala. One that this city and our winners would thoroughly deserve!

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