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Warehousing space developer Panattoni Europe is planning to enter the retail property market in Poland in efforts to expand its reach in the country. The CEE unit of Panattoni has appointed Andrzej Lasocki to the newly created position of retail development director.

Lasocki joins from Irish investment group Caelum Development, where he covered the position of investment director. He previously worked for retail developers such as Echo Investment and Dom Development.

Lasocki will be leading Panattoni's newly-launched unit which will invest in retail facilities across the country. The developer said its decision to enter the retail property market is part of its growth strategy in Poland and its intention to diversify its offer in the country. 'The company will focus on the development of shopping centres and retail parks in medium-sized cities and we hope to have at least one or two sites secured for development by next year,' Lasocki told PropertyEU.

'The emergence of a new business unit is a sign of diversification of our operations in Poland,' said Robert Dobrzycki, Panattoni's managing partner for Central and Eastern Europe. 'We will rely on our previous development experience as well as resort to the support of high-class professionals. That is why we have welcomed on board a new specialist in this field who will lead this new business segment.'