Krakow as a major outsourcing center

The Krakow metropolitan area with a population of over 900,000 is a major center of higher education. Seven universities are home to a student population of over 100,000.

Tens of thousands of new graduates most of whom are fluent in English and at least one other foreign language are eager to find employment. This flow of young and eager talent is music to the ears of outsourcing centers which are locating to Kraków. Another major attraction to the outsourcing community is Kraków Business Park (KBP) which upon completion of all eleven phases will consist of 120,000 m2 of Class A office space. KBP consisting of 14 hectares is situated in a park like setting consisting of trees, lakes and waterfalls providing an excellent environment for employees. KBP lies in a suburban setting along the A-4 motorway (Kraków ring road) and 5 minutes from Kraków International Airport which has non-stop flights to most European Capitals as well as New York, Newark and Chicago. In December 2006 KBP will open its own commuter train station, which will link with Kraków City Center in 15 minutes and Katowice in 35 minutes. This link with Kraków Center, Katowice and the Silesia region will provide KBP with a four million population which will be within commuting distance.

The office space being constructed at KBP is ideally suited for outsourcing and R&D Centers. Large floor plates of over 2,500m2 of open space with a minimum add on factor is extremely efficient from a tenant standpoint. All buildings at KBP are built to very high technical specifications including raised floors, full air conditioning, automatic fire sprinkler system and a building monitoring system, which allows for the most efficient use of building resources thereby reducing operating costs. KBP also has dual power supply and a dedicated transformer station and high speed internet from three different telecommunication companies. KBP has very high security specifications including electronic access system with 12 months back up allowing tenants to restrict access to their space and 24 hour security allowing for continuous operation of the tenant’s space. The first building (10,000 m2) is completed and fully leased to outsourcing centers for Cap Gemini, Shell, ACS and Peak Traffic and Delphi for its design center. Another two buildings 11,000 m2 each are under construction and will be completed February 2007. A further two buildings will be completed December 2007. KBP can construct build to suit facilities and provide tenant move in within 12 months of pre-lease signing. This can be accomplished as all infrastructure is in place and planning permission is at an advance stage. KBP is being developed by Kraków Business Park Sp. z o.o. a Polish limited company whose shareholders have many years of real estate development experience in the United States and Poland.

KBP is located in the Kraków Special Economic Zone which enables tenants to avail themselves of income tax exemptions as well as other government grants on the condition that new jobs are created. The Polish Government is actively seeking to attract outsourcing companies to locate in the Country. The pool of young people with excellent language skills is very high. Unemployment among young people is over 30% and the government is seeking to address this.

The demographies of Kraków particularly its young educated work force is a major factor in attracting outsourcing businesses. Kraków Universities graduate students with unique language skills such as Japanese and other less common European languages. Therefore, outsourcing companies can support Pan European enterprises providing a board range of language skills, which could not be done from India or China. It is not surprising that Shell, Cap Gemeni, AES, Philip Morris and IBM have chosen Kraków to locate major outsourcing centers. Office parks such as KBP provide outsourcing companies with efficient office space and flexibility to expand as well as being located in the Kraków Special Economic Zone.

Perspective tenant inquires should be directed to Erik Drukker or Alan Colquhoun of DTZ telephone +48 22 521 50 00, fax +48 22 521 50 01 and e-mail: erik.drukker@dtz.com. You may also contact KBP directly on +48 12 257 60 00 or visit the KBP home page on www.kbp.pl.