Wroclaw

Wroclaw is situated in a strategic triangle between Warsaw, Berlin and Prague. Each of these cities can be reached from Wroclaw in less than four hours by car. With its excellent infrastructure – modern motorways, an ever-expanding airport and a dense rail network – the city is perfectly connected to the rest of the continent. A number of bus and tram lines, as well as the city’s bike-sharing system, make it possible to get around the city efficiently and encourage residents to choose environmentally friendly modes of transport.

Wrocław Airport, located relatively close to the city centre (10 km), offers a wide range of direct connections to the main European transfer ports (flights to e.g. Frankfurt, Munich, Warsaw), an average of 2 flights a day to London (Luton and Stansted) and to the major European capitals (Amsterdam, Paris, Athens, Reykjavik). During the summer season, 453,000 passengers used the airport in July alone.

Marcin Siewierski

Associate, Regional Head / Western Poland Office Department, Cushman & Wakefield

Expert commentary

The city’s well-developed infrastructure is one of the most important elements attracting global investors to Wrocław. The city has convenient transport links, an airport, access to the motorway network and an ever-expanding rail network.

In addition, Wrocław is one of the largest academic centres in Poland, and its numerous universities and research institutes attract modern business services companies, which are the main drivers of the regional office market.

Wrocław business environment is recognised worldwide. In the prestigious European Cities & Regions of the Future 2022/23 ranking compiled by fDi Magazine, Wrocław was ranked first in the category of medium-sized cities in terms of business-friendliness and third overall among medium-sized cities.

Marcin Siewierski

Associate, Regional Head / Western Poland Office Department, Cushman & Wakefield

Expert commentary

Wroclaw remains the second largest regional office market in Poland. Over the past decade, the capital of Lower Silesia has experienced very dynamic growth in the volume of modern office space, with investments by large international companies being an important catalyst for this development.

In the first half of the year, Wroclaw’s office market was characterised by one of the highest levels of activity among regional markets, both on the part of tenants and developers. By the end of June, more than 30,000 sq m of new office space had been delivered to the market, representing almost 30 per cent of the space taken up in all regional markets. More than 150,000 sq m of office space is still under construction and will be delivered between 2023 and 2024.

On the other hand, the volume of lease transactions in the first half of 2023 was more than 88 thousand sq m, up by more than 40 per cent year-on-year. Thus, Wroclaw accounted for approximately 26 per cent of all transactions concluded in the regional markets in the first half of 2022.

Despite an increase in the vacancy rate by 1.3 p.p. year-on-year to 16.1 per cent at the end of June 2023, we can observe its decline on a quarterly basis. This situation gives rise to the hope that this indicator will be lower in December than in the previous year and that the downward trend on the Wroclaw office market will continue in the long term.

In view of this situation, we can look to the future with optimism. However, we should not forget that the market also faces many challenges. Looking ahead to 2024 and 2025, we can expect a significantly lower supply of new office space, rising prices for services, operating costs and utilities, high costs of financing new office investments and, at the same time, the need to look for savings – both on the part of tenants and owners of office buildings.

In the Wrocław agglomeration, a number of business environment institutions are active and available to entrepreneurs. These include:

• Wrocław Agglomeration Development Agency
• British-Polish Chamber of Commerce
• American Chamber of Commerce
• Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
• Western Chamber of Commerce – Employers and Entrepreneurs
• Lower Silesian Chamber of Commerce
• Wrocław Chamber of Commerce
• Wrocław Industrial Park
• Wrocław Technology Park
• Wrocław Technology Transfer Centre
• Lower Silesian Innovation and Science Park
• Wrocław Medical Science and Technology Park

Wrocław is a strong academic centre, educating around 105,000 students per year, represented by Wrocław University of Technology – the leading technical university in Poland. Thanks to its intellectual base, combined with state-of-the-art laboratories and advanced technological infrastructure, the city is the most popular location in the country for R&D and Knowledge Process Outsourcing centres.

Wrocław universities are also keen to cooperate with the business community. For example, the Wrocław University of Economics has a Business Collaboration Centre, and the Wrocław University of Technology has a Centre for Innovation and Business of the Wrocław University of Technology, whose tasks include: developing cooperation with partners, acting as an intermediary in establishing contacts between students, the university, employers and labour market institutions, including the placement of internships, jobs and placements, or acting as an intermediary in commissioning projects of a research and development nature. Wrocław University of Technology also supports the creation of special purpose companies, spin-offs, which aim to indirectly commercialise the results of R&D work created at the University.

Katarzyna Sławińska

Team Manager, Engineering & Operations Antal

Expert commentary

Wrocław has been developing rapidly in terms of business and infrastructure for a number of years. We are witnessing closer cooperation and the creation of synergies between business and universities. Almost every university, both public and private, cooperates with business in various forms: internship programmes, apprenticeships, research, joint research projects, training programmes, employment of graduates.

This year, applicants to study in Wrocław had a wide range of opportunities to apply for a first degree in 202 full-time and 84 part-time courses. This offer was created by 10 public and 16 non-public higher education institutions. As a result of the rapidly developing cooperation between universities and business, the educational offer is adapted to the galloping development of economic trends. The curriculum of Wrocław public universities has been expanded by 27 new fields of study, including: nuclear energy, mathematics and data analysis, eco-business, electronic and computer engineering, environmental quality management, electronic mechatronic systems, kinesiology, medical molecular biotechnology, business law or project management.

Joanna Wróbel

Team Leader, IT Services Antal

Expert commentary

For many years now, we have been witnessing a spectacular expansion of the Wrocław area in terms of investment potential, and the foundations have been laid for this trend to continue. I believe that at this stage there are further opportunities to benefit from being the economic leader in south-west Poland. We now have a number of highly educated new employees in Wrocław from countries beyond Poland’s eastern border, which further enhances the attractiveness of the region.

The hiring decisions that were put on hold during the pandemic were and will be implemented in 2022 and 2023 in specific industries, mainly with a manufacturing profile. In 2023, we see a slight slowdown in the momentum of employment needs in certain sectors, but this will be to the benefit of other sectors, resulting in a low unemployment rate in the region’s macroeconomic assessment, with a slight seasonal decline.

Katarzyna Siemienkiewicz

Labor Law Expert, Employers of Poland

Expert commentary

Wrocław is not only a city, but also a well-known brand with extensive business opportunities. It is one of the top three Polish cities with the greatest investment potential. The capital of Lower Silesia is particularly notable for having the highest employment potential in the country.

It is the third most populous city in Poland and boasts a broad university base with high quality education. Despite a declining demographic structure, the well-developed university infrastructure encourages young people to settle in the local market.

The largest academic centre is Wrocław University of Technology, which puts the city at the forefront of engineering and IT graduates. Companies operating in the city plan to increase employment in these sectors and offer high salaries.
Competition in the IT sector is fierce, including for the right people. Some positions in the sector can pay more than in the capital.

Industry dominates the city as the sector with the largest number of employees. Due to the geographical location of Wrocław, the potential of the city is positively influenced by the investment decisions of companies. The location aspect of Wrocław is also highly valued by employees and potential job applicants. The capital of Lower Silesia is not only an excellent place to work, but also to live.

Wrocław is not only beautiful, it is also an excellent business location. The city is characterised by a diversity of industries, with well-developed sectors such as IT, automotive and engineering. Thanks to its academic potential, highly skilled workforce and industrial and technological traditions, Wrocław is an innovative place that attracts investors from all over the world.

In this year’s fDi ranking, Wrocław retained its first place in the category of medium-sized cities in terms of business conditions. The city was also recognised in the categories of economic potential, human capital, lifestyle and FDI strategy, as well as in the overall ranking.

Yong Girl Lee

Dyrektor External Relations, LG Energy Solution

Expert commentary

The investment potential of Wrocław was clear to us back in 2005, when we started building the first plant of the LG Group, the older sister of LG Energy Solution Wrocław. Even then, we knew that we had to invest in the heart of Lower Silesia. The region’s proximity to the West Europe and to major business and academic centres such as Berlin, Dresden and Prague supports the growth of the industry, attracting specialised automotive experts and facilitating the expansion of electric car battery technology across Europe.

Over the past 20 years, Lower Silesia has undergone a remarkable metamorphosis. Wrocław itself has also developed, and over the years it has been both the Capital of Culture and co-host of Euro 2012, becoming one of Europe’s leading metropolises, attracting investors and experts with international experience. Local authorities have played a huge role in the development of the province, not only by being friendly to investors, but also by providing leadership and support for progress, for which we are very grateful.

Wrocław is the great intellectual power of the region, with over 100,000 students studying in the city. Developing the human resources of the future – future engineers, new technology specialists or production process managers – is particularly important to us. We cooperate on a daily basis with Wrocław’s two main universities, the University of Technology and the University of Wrocław, sharing our international experience and the results of the work of over 7,000 of our employees. We regularly invite young people to take part in our internship programme – graduates tell us that nothing broadens their horizons and facilitates the acquisition of technological knowledge like an internship in a 100-hectare factory, one of the most modern in Europe. Many students leave the region after graduation. At LG Energy Solution Wrocław, we do everything we can to ensure that the best stay. And we make no bones about it – we want the development of our factory to be one of the reasons why they choose Lower Silesia as their home.

Elín María Björnsdóttir

Chief Human Resource Officer, Controlant

Expert commentary

Controlant is a global leader in the digital transformation of pharma supply chains. Expanding our operations by opening an office in Wroclaw has been an important step in realizing our vision which is to unleash zero-waste pharma supply chains for our partners and the planet through digitalization, automation, and transformation of the pharma supply chain.

Since the official opening of our Wroclaw office in September 2022, our local team has more than doubled with talented, highly skilled individuals joining our customer support, logistics, finance, and particularly research and development teams. From our office in Wroclaw, we are in a strong position to strengthen our existing customer relationships and create new ones, as well as to accelerate our innovation efforts to bring new breakthrough solutions to the market that eliminate waste and ensure patient safety through pharma supply chains. We have had a fantastic, warm welcome since our entry last year, and we look forward to strengthening our team and presence in Wroclaw.

Wrocław, the capital of Lower Silesia and the fourth largest city in Poland, is a thriving economic centre with a wide range of cultural opportunities. Due to its location on 12 islands on the Oder River and its tributaries, Wrocław is often referred to as the Venice of the North.

The oldest part of Wrocław is Ostrów Tumski. Surrounded by the waters of the Oder River, the ancient fortress gave birth to the city and now houses architectural monuments. The Gothic Cathedral of St John the Baptist and the Church of the Holy Cross, rebuilt after the war, are the city’s cultural landmarks.

Wrocław also offers a wide range of cultural events, including the annual New Horizons film festival, which attracts people from all over Poland – over 140,000 people attended the last edition.

• The Lower Silesian capital is developing rapidly in terms of cycling infrastructure. New cycle paths, bike rentals, bike parks and other places suitable for cycling are being built all the time.
• In the “Quality of Living” ranking published by the consulting firm Mercer, Wrocław came 100th out of 230 cities from all over the world, and was also included in the ranking as a city that is developing as a business centre.
• According to fDi’s Polish Cities of the Future 2019/20, Wrocław is the second fastest growing city in Poland.
• There are around 130 bridges and footbridges in Wrocław. The high number of crossings is due to the city’s location, with several rivers flowing through the city, including the Oder, Oława, Ślęza, Widawa, Bystrzyca and Dobra. Within the city there are up to 25 islands (depending on the water level).
• Almost 5.8 million people visited Wrocław in 2022 – more than a million more than the year before (there were almost 1.1 million fewer tourists in 2021 than in 2022).
• In 2022, more than 1.54 million people visited Wrocław Zoo from January to November.
• The Hydropolis received almost 366,000 visitors in 2022 (excluding December) – more than in the whole of 2021 (252,000 visitors).