Fortim Trusted Advisors: Record quarter on the office rental market in Bucharest

In Bucharest, the interest of office tenants was much higher in the second quarter of 2023, compared to the first quarter of the year, according to the analysis carried out by Fortim Trusted Advisors, a member of the BNP Paribas Real Estate Alliance. The companies traded a total area of 128,915 sqm, which involves renting new premises and renegotiations. Thus, companies rented offices for approximately 14,000 employees in Bucharest in the second quarter, a 131% larger area compared to the previous quarter of 2023 and 48% compared to the second quarter of 2022. 

The companies that rented the largest office spaces are:

• eMAG, with an area of 10,000 sq m in Globalworth Square;
• Banca Transilvania, with an area of 9,860 sq m in Green Court;
• Vois (Vodafone division), with 5,462 sq m in The Bridge;
• Coca-Cola, with 4,500 sqm in the Globalworh Campus;
• The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, with a space of 3,780 sqm in Sema Park.

“This year, many large leases that have passed one, two or even three lease cycles, 4-15 years ago, in office buildings that have come into use, are expiring, or coming to an end at a time when a large number of properties were delivered with this objective. Currently, these banner companies, with sonorous names and generous leased areas, are negotiating with the current owners and in parallel looking for better options in terms of price, location, or facilities. Based on these considerations, a large volume of transactions took place in the second quarter of this year and the growth will continue, probably for at least one more quarter from now on”, declares Nicolae Ciobanu, Managing Partner – Head of Advisory at Fortim Trusted Advisors, member of the BNP Alliance Paribas Real Estate.

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Half of the office tenants who closed deals in the second quarter were looking for new space to move into and half renewed their leases for the office space they currently operate.

Only one office building was delivered.

In the second quarter of 2023, the @expo building A tower was put into use, with a total leasable office area of 28,360 sqm.

By the end of the year, the developers expect to deliver the second phase of the U Center building, already more than 50% leased and with a large lease under negotiation and two small office buildings, with areas between 1,500 and 8,000 sqm, boutique type, in the central area.

Overall, deliveries of new office space will be on a downward trend, both in the second period of the year and in 2024. This situation is already reflected in a downward trend in pre-lease transactions. In the second quarter, only one pre-lease contract was signed, with an area of only 1,000 square meters.

“We are entering a period with very few authorized office projects under construction, which is why, after the occupation of the buildings delivered in the second quarter, we will no longer have alternatives for pre-leasing large areas in new buildings. Following the postponement of some projects, a total of 117,167 sqm will be delivered in 2023, of which 69,860 sqm have already been put into use in the first two quarters. In 2024, we estimate that even fewer spaces will be delivered, with a total floor area of only 31,000 sqm, less than the building inaugurated in the second quarter of this quarter. Therefore, the attention of the tenants will be directed towards the existing buildings, the differentiation being made according to the location, the quality of the buildings and the degree of implementation of the new ESG norms “, declares Costin Nistor, Managing Director at Fortim Trusted Advisors, member of the BNP Alliance Paribas Real Estate.