JLL advised Develia on the acquisition of Nexity Polska

Polish listed developer Develia has signed a preliminary agreement to acquire a 100% stake in the Polish subsidiaries of French developer Nexity for EUR 100 million (approx. PLN 453 million). Following the acquisition, Develia will increase the number of apartments under construction by approximately 1,400 units and acquire a land bank for about 2,200 units in Warsaw, Kraków and Poznań. This transaction proves the resilience of the Polish residential market, as both developers and institutional investors seek new opportunities in a quickly growing market.

Andrzej Oślizło, CEO of Develia, emphasizes that this transaction will allow them to significantly expand their portfolio in two top agglomerations in Poland – Warsaw and Kraków – and enter Poznań where they have not been present so far.

JLL's Living Investments team was appointed as an advisor to Develia. Our role was to assess the commercial aspects of Nexity's projects and provide comprehensive market data, recommendations regarding revenues and sales schedules for all phases of the current and planned projects within the portfolio.

Develia's acquisition of a 100% stake in Nexity Polska is another example of an M&A transaction in the Polish residential market. According to JLL's experts, this trend is likely to continue. Bearing in mind the vast housing deficit in Poland, estimated at approx. 1.5 million apartments, and the high demand in the built-to-sell and built-to-rent sectors, it is not surprising that developers and investors are looking for growth opportunities in Poland. Taking over a reputable residential developer is an increasingly attractive way to expand, as the land banks of many developers have shrunk in recent years, and the limited availability of land for development does not allow for a rapid increase in the number of the BTS and BTR projects.

Not only domestic developers are responsible for the M&A activity in the sector. Recently, JLL has advised on transactions involving international capital, including acquiring a 98.04% stake in Murapol (one of the largest Polish residential developers) by Ares Management Corporation and Griffin Capital Partners. From the perspective of international companies, the advantage of such deals is not only the acquisition of a land portfolio but also an experienced local team, which brings much greater efficiency in acquiring new plots, obtaining administrative decisions and conducting the entire investment process.

On the part of the JLL Living Investments team in Poland, the project was headed by Urszula Kowalska.