KATOWICE, Poland-Stewart Title Ltd., the underwriter for UK, European and Australian transactions for Stewart Information Services Corp., has issued the title insurance policy for Silesia City Center in Katowice.
An international investor consortium, led by Allianz Real Estate, acquired the property from Immofinanz Group. ECE, one of the leading European shopping center operators and one of the consortium investors, has taken over the management and leasing of the center.
“As the chosen title insurer for the consortium, we are extremely proud to have safeguarded this transaction,” said Steven Lessack, group president, international operations. “Stewart Title specializes in indemnifying for title risks involved in acquiring commercial real estate so that our clients can focus on managing their investment portfolios with security and peace of mind.”
Silesia City Center was built in 2005. With the addition of an expansion in 2011, the center became one of the five largest shopping centers in Poland. The impressive property is a combined retail, gourmet and entertainment complex that has received a number of awards, including a 2013 ICSC European Shopping Centre Award. With more than 260 shops on a leasable area of approximately 85,000 square meters (915,000 SF), the center is fully-leased and has attracted such high profile tenants as C&A, Cinema City, H&M, Pure Health and Fitness, Saturn, Smyk, Tesco, Van Graaf and Zara.
The amount insured in this transaction exceeded EUR 400 million ($544M) making this a landmark deal for a retail shopping center in Poland. Stewart Title was well placed to facilitate an on-time closing between Immofinanz and the consortium.
“We are the only leading title insurer in Central and Eastern Europe with in-house legal teams serving the region,” said Tomasz Klodowski, managing director, Polish branch for Stewart. “We are proud of our reputation for being able to underwrite complex title matters quickly.”
To date, Stewart has underwritten in excess of EUR 10 billion ($13.6 B) in transactions in Central and Eastern Europe.
To reduce risk and improve efficiency in residential and commercial conveyancing and remortgage transactions, Stewart Title also offers a full range of other legal indemnity products to solicitors, lenders and property owners including a gap policy and escrow services. The company specializes in facilitating cross-border transactions and solving market specific issues with local expertise and custom underwriting.
Stewart Title Ltd. is the primary underwriter of UK, European and Australian transactions. The company's operations are headquartered in London. Stewart Title's Poland branch office is located in Warsaw.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
