Profil:
Echo Investment SAEcho Investment wants to sell further commercial assets; housing sector with biggest potential
Listed developer Echo Investment plans to sell further assets in the commercial sector and reinvest the proceeds, allocate them to dividends and reduce debt, company representatives told a video conference following the release of Echo's financial report for the first half of 2025. The sector with the greatest potential is residential, but the group is not abandoning other areas.
"We are focusing on selling assets in the commercial sector (...), and we will reinvest the proceeds (...)," Echo's deputy CEO Maciej Drozd told the video conference.
"The sale of assets will generate PLN 800 million in cash, which we will invest in projects, debt reduction and dividend payments," he added.
In the management board's opinion, residential sector has the greatest potential, and the group is still analysing the possibility of entering the Tri-City market.
"In the student accommodation sector, we are opening our first project in Cracow and starting two in Warsaw. Activity is increasing, it is a very interesting market, there are not enough flats for students, there is no such competition, considering the demand, so we see an opportunity to act," said Drozd, adding that the group will be very active in this market for the next 3-5 years.
Sales of flats under the Archicom brand in the first half of the year totalled 1,162 units, including 632 in the second quarter, up by 34 percent year on year. A total of 404 flats were handed over to customers, 380 of which in the second quarter.
At the end of June, over 6,400 flats were under construction, of which 2,700 will be ready by the end of this year.
According to the deputy CEO, the group will invest less in the commercial sector and more in housing. CEO Nicklas Lindberg added that the living sector is a growing part of the group, but Echo does not want to leave the office market.
"We want to diversify our business depending on where there are upturns in the market (...). There is a record low supply of offices on the market," Echo's CEO stressed.
"The commercial market is particularly strong in Warsaw. We can see that, for example, the return on investment from Towarowa 22 was very favourable (...). In other cities, we have individual, smaller investors," he added.
When asked whether Echo plans to be active on the bond market, the CEO said that it currently has no such plans – rather, it wants to reduce its debt.
"It's not about the bonds themselves, but the fact that we have a different business model, focusing more on housing and direct payments," Lindberg said.
"In 2026, Archicom will be the largest growth branch. We will carry out divestments, but this will be a smaller part of our business, and profits will be more stable," he added.
doa/ ao/ han/
