First Title Facilitates Poland's Largest Office Deal of the Year
27 October 2008
LONDON, Oct. 27, 2008 - First Title Insurance plc (First Title), a subsidiary of First Title plc and the largest provider of title insurance in the United Kingdom and Europe, announces its facilitation of Danish Investor Group Baltic Property Trust Optima fund's (BPT) purchase of three office buildings from Telekomunikacja Polska S.A. (TPSA) - one of the largest communications companies in Europe - in a transaction with an overall market value of nearly 168 million EUR.
First Title created a special title insurance policy in order to facilitate BPT's acquisition of commercial buildings with a combined gross area of 62,000square metersin the business district of Warsaw. As a result, the transaction was able to proceed, minimizing representations and warranties on title from the seller and providing BPT greater security in the transaction.
First Title's latest deal follows the multi-million euro summer purchase of Winmarkt Magazine by the IGD Group - a transaction in Romania that involved 147,000 square meters of commercial property - which First Title also insured for title.
John Bakowski, country manager for First Title Poland, comments: "The BPT transaction highlights one of the key benefits of purchasing title insurance. The product replaces warranties that would otherwise leave the seller with contingent liabilities upon closure of the transaction. First Title was pleased to have the opportunity to develop a complex, tailored policy to help BPT and TPSA reach their goals - the sale and lease back of the buildings. This is an excellent example of how title insurance can enhance value and facilitate the acquisition of property."
Tomasz Tromer, partner and country director of BPT, Poland, said: "This spectacular purchase is another milestone for the BPT's acquisition strategy and it is the largest Polish office deal of the year. Owing to the scale of the transaction, BPT obtained a unique opportunity to efficiently indicate its presence on the Baltic Sea real estate market. However, I believe that without the value added by title insurance and without First Title's skills, this acquisition would not have been completed as proficiently and time effectively."