The Warsaw HUB visualisation

The Warsaw HUB – a complex of office buildings currently under construction in Poland’s capital city’s district of Wola, has found its first tenant. And that is Standard Chartered – an investment bank whose history spans over 150 years. It has just announced its plans to launch a global business centre in Warsaw, despite the hints it made last year that it would be headquartered in Frankfurt. It appears that the banking giant has decided to find a cheaper location for at least a portion of its operations, with plans to recruit 750 members of staff.


As a result of that decision, Warsaw will join the ranks of three other business services centres situated in China, Malesia and India. The lease agreement for 3.600 sqm has been signed for a period of 10 years. Jarosław Zagórski – Commercial and Business Development Director at Ghelamco Poland – the main investor and principal contractor for the Warsaw HUB, did not hide his satisfaction:

“We are honoured that such a prestigious financial brand has chosen The Warsaw HUB for its office. Warsaw will also benefit from this since Standard Chartered has decided to open its service centre to focus on its European and American clients. This is a clear illustration of the Polish capital’s position in the world of business and the strength of the local property market, which is unrivalled in this part of the continent.”

Yet, this relocation announced by Standard Chartered is not the only decision made by a major financial institution in favour of Warsaw as a result of UK’s departure from the EU. The Reuters news agency reported this year, based on information close to the source, that J.P. Morgan is planning to open a back office to support the operations of its European and Asian branches and employ a whopping 3.5 thousand staff. It seems that while Britain is well into packing its bags to leave the EU, so are various enterprises who have set their sights on Warsaw as an attractive location for their offices. The capital city of Poland makes a natural destination for big players on the financial markets due to its location in Central Europe, solid education and English language proficiency among office staff and rates of pay that are still relative lower compared to Western European countries.

Rowena Everson – CEO at Standard Chartered Global Businesses, commented on its … as follows

“As we open our new office in Poland, we believe being the first office tenant to such a modern and innovative building will make us an attractively located employer and help encourage the talented people we are recruiting to join us. We are delighted to have signed a long-term lease for our permanent office in Warsaw. Once completed we look forward to being in The Warsaw HUB as it becomes a permanent addition to Warsaw’s impressive skyline,”

Meanwhile, the centre was launched this month in its temporary location at ul. Towarowa 25a in Warsaw. The Warsaw Hub will consist of three skyscrapers, comprising an 86-meter hotel building and two 130-meter office towers, with a total area of 113,000 sqm.

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