CPI Romania: setting standards on the real estate market

The Romanian real estate market is stable and prosperous, even though it has not yet reached the size of Western European counterparts. Fulga Dinu, Country Manager at CPI Romania—one of the top three real estate investors in Romania—provided insight into the company’s strategy as it strengthens its portfolio on the local market.

By Anda Sebesi

You took the lead at CPI in Romania last year. What did this mean for you from a professional perspective?

It was an important, but a natural step forward in my professional development. The transition to CPI Romania meant taking the lead of an extended portfolio, as the company is now one of the top 3 real estate investors on the local market. CPI Romania’s portfolio includes numerous office and retail properties, as well as a hotel in Bucharest. Our office buildings total 365,000 sqm GLA of premium space situated in Bucharest; our retail properties, cumulating approximately 269,000 sqm GLA, are located both in Bucharest as well as in other major cities in Romania.

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What were the biggest challenges CPI Romania faced on the local market in 2023?

We did not encounter major challenges this year, except for the macroeconomic issues that affected the entire market, such as high inflation, rising prices, and increased costs for financing. On the office segment, we signed new contracts and lease extensions for almost 50,000 sqm GLA, which means 15% of the entire leasing activity on the market. Moreover, our state-of-the-art asset management capabilities paid off, as we were able to create the environment and infrastructure that allowed our tenants to increase the physical presence of employees in the office, and hence in our buildings we have an attendance rate of approximately 70%. As far as our retail portfolio is concerned, we have an occupancy rate of almost 100% across our 6 shopping centres and an ever-growing footfall.

What were the most important projects the company carried out in Romania in 2023?

At the beginning of the year, we finished the refurbishment process of the Victoria Park office building. The process involved transforming it into a myhive building, with all the related infrastructure, which immediately paid off as we managed to reach an occupancy rate of over 95%, from 50% at the beginning of the year. We are also in the planning phase for remodelling works in some of our shopping centres, which we shall launch in the coming period.

How important are ESG and sustainability criteria for CPI?

ESG and sustainability are priorities for us, and we are fully committed and aligned with CPI Property Group’s key sustainability principles. As a result, CPI Romania has implemented several measures including the usage of e-car charging stations, green mobility bike stations, extensive led usage, enlargement of green areas, selective recycling, rainwater usage for irrigation, equipment replacement, and the list could go on; consequently, most of our buildings are green certified. Additionally, we are currently assessing the idea of installing photovoltaic equipment on the rooftops. Besides the above measures, we are also very active in the social component of ESG, as we’ve received the Access4You certification for all our office buildings and we are partnering up with various NGOs for social projects.

What were 2023’s main challenges from a management point of view?

I’ve always liked challenges as I believe they can represent hidden opportunities. I believe that we all need to be adaptive and resilient. Just to give an example, we saw the opportunity to expand in other business areas and even set a trend on the local real estate market, as we signed very long-term lease agreements with two medical service providers who will open private hospitals inside our office buildings.

What is your outlook for the Romanian real estate sector in 2024?

It will be yet another year marked by obstacles, which will stem from the impact of the conflict at our border and the one in the Middle East, with their respective macroeconomic consequences. However, I am convinced that things will continue to evolve in a positive manner if we hold on to our creativity and resilience.