Revolut, a British company from the fintech industry, has signed a lease agreement for a new office in Krakow. Revolut chose the Podium Park office complex for their local office, which is one of the most modern and environmentally friendly projects in Poland. The first stage of the building has recently been put into operation. Brookfield Partners, an independent consultancy firm specializing in the representation of tenants, advised Revolut on this transaction. The landlord was supported by the international consulting company CBRE, which at the same time is the exclusive agent of Podium Park, and since August 2018 also the manager of the first stage of the project. New Revolut’s office with a total area of over 5,300 sq m will accommodate over 700 desks. The company is planning to relocate in June 2019.
It has been almost a year since Revolut, the technology startup established in 2015 in London, officially entered Poland. At that time, the company managed to acquire 360K users in the market. Poles are more and more willing to use on a daily basis the Revolut app, which is a cheaper alternative to traditional banking services. The app allows you to exchange currencies at attractive rates, buy online with high security and provides a platform for independent financial management.
Revolut established a service center in Krakow and employs there specialists responsible for customer service and support, compliance and product development. The dynamic development which the company experienced in recent months has created the need to acquire a new office that will meet the needs of the constantly growing team.
“We’re continuing to create 100s new fintech jobs in Poland. Our decision to open an ultra modern customer support center in Krakow will boost fintech ecosystem in the city, while also providing our employees with easy access, high comfort and user friendly working space. The new office will accommodate over 700 desks and will be Revolut’s largest European center, providing essential customer support to millions of Revolut customers around the world. It will be critical for our business success as we scale globally. We want to be a leading employer in fintech industry. Poland is European centre of excellence for customer support, compliance, operations and software development. We’re proud of our investments in Poland and are working hard to ensure that Revolut can act as growth engine for local fintech ecosystem, businesses and individuals” – said Karol Sadaj, Country Manager Revolut in Poland.
“Podium Park consists of three interconnected 11-storey buildings with a total leasable area of over 51,000 sq m of which approx. 48,000 sq m is the office space and approx. 3,000 sq m is the retail area. Podium Park provides the tenants with over 860 car parking spaces, around 500 bicycle parking spaces and 39 electric car charging stations. Building A is one of the most modern office buildings in Poland. This is confirmed by two BREEAM certificates at the highest Outstanding level that were granted at the Design Stage, as well as Post Construction. The certificates were issued by the international BRE certification institution in England at the highest possible level and the qualification to the list of the six most ecological investments in Europe in the prestigious BREEAM Awards 2018” – said Wojciech Dobrzański, President of the Podium Investment Management Board.
The office building’s location provides direct access to public transport and very good, direct connections to the most important districts of Krakow and the airport.
Podium Park implemented by the Podium Investment is created with care for the natural environment and the comfort of employees. The investment sets European standards in the field of ecological office investments. Green areas with a total area of ca. 5.000 sq m were also incorporated in Podium Park’s project. Another distinguishing element is the technically advanced facade built in accordance with the requirements in force from January 2021 in the field of thermal insulation.
The office building has a number of facilities supporting the work comfort of all employees, including among others the noise level limitation to 40 dB, 50% more air than it is provided by the Polish standards, and savings in water consumption exceeding the norms. Tenants will also be able to rent electric cars, bicycles and scooters and take advantage of the extensive bicycle infrastructure (cabinets, showers, covered shelters, repair station and charging stations).
“Revolut is our next client who, encouraged by the attractiveness of Krakow, decided to launch their largest office here. Due to our experience in the representation of companies from the sector of new technologies, we know how important flexibility and effective operation are under time pressure. Dynamically developing companies are demanding customers. It was no different in this case. The new Revolut’s headquarters in Krakow will occupy three more floors with access to two private terraces with a total area of approx. 530 sq m. In a short time, Revolut managed to provide an attractive space in a perfect location that will certainly support the further development of the company in Poland and in the world” – added Filip Kościkiewicz, Partner at Brookfield Partners responsible for the transaction.
“I believe that the Revolut’s choice of Krakow’s Podium Park as a location for a service center is a well-thought-out decision. Both the city and the building have a lot to offer to companies from the fintech sector. Krakow was ranked third in the CBRE “EMEA Tech Cities” ranking, which identified technological locations with the greatest growth potential. The strength of the capital of Malopolska is a very high share of young, highly qualified employees. For a new generation of specialists, a modern, well-equipped and well-located office is in turn one of the most important factors when selecting an employer. Podium Park is therefore the perfect answer to the needs of the company and its employees” – said Kamil Tyszkiewicz, Director in the Office Space Department, Head of Regional Markets at CBRE.