Another thing that should be noted is the competition over control of the Barbu Vacarescu-Floreasca area of Bucharest and the major leases signed by telecoms – Orange, Vodafone and Telekom, this year, which rented 55,000 square meters.
64% rise in number of homes completed in Bucharest-Ilfov
The residential sector, which real estate consultants say is the last to recover from the crisis, has resumed growth this year both in terms of new homes completed and in terms of asking apartment prices in the big cities.
National Statistics Institute data show that the number of houses and apartments completed in Bucharest-Ilfov in January-September rose by 64% to 5,657 units, while the national growth was only 7% to 28,555. Total homes completed in 2014 should amount to over 8,000 houses and apartments in Bucharest – Ilfov and about 45,000 in the rest of the country.
Asking prices rose by 1.5% to 4.4% in eight of the ten most expensive cities in Romania, while remaining flat in Targu-Mures and going down 3.7% in Sibiu.
NEPI and Globalworth took real estate deals market towards EUR1.2 billion
Real estate investment firms Globalworth and NEPI run by businessmen Ioannis Papalekas and Martin Slabbert, were the most active investors in commercial real estate, a market that saw a spectacular growth this year from EUR300 million in 2013 to EUR1.2 billion this year.
The deals closed by the two this year include the takeover of the Promenada mall in Bucharest, a EUR148 million transaction between NEPI and Raiffeisen Evolution, the developer of the project.
New shopping centers in Targu-Jiu, Rahova and Drumul Taberei
Three new shopping centers opened this year: Targu-Jiu Shopping City, Vulcan Value Center in Rahova district of Bucharest and Auchan Drumul Taberei in the same city. The three required EUR140 million investments together.
The shopping centers in Rahova and Targu-Jiu were developed by NEPI, while Auchan Drumul Taberei is the ‘handiwork’ of Auchan. The companies completed the three centers in record time of one year at most. The investments were not very high, which means developers adjusted their budgets to the purchasing power of their target.
First Skanska project in Romania
Sweden’s Skanska, a real estate and construction giant with EUR15 billion revenue in 2013, completed its first building in Romania in the Green Court office complex in Bucharest this year.
With a lettable area of 19,500 square meters, the first Green Court building is part of a bigger project that will include two more buildings. Skanska is already working on the second building of the complex, with the delivery scheduled for next year. The investment in the two is estimated at EUR80 million.
Rented by Orange and Schneider Electric, the Green Court I is subject to a deal with Globalworth, which signed a purchase agreement worth EUR44 million. The deal will be finalized in the second quarter of 2015.
Orange, Vodafone and Telekom – new offices for 5,000 employees
The leading telecom companies in Romania – Orange, Vodafone and Telekom, signed leases for 55,000 square meters of office space this year, enough to accommodate more than 5,000 employees.
These are the biggest deals on the office space market this year, without taking into account Renault’s decision to renew the lease for its 20,000 square meters in North Gate in Pipera, northern Bucharest.
Orange rented 14,000 square meters in Green Court I, turning the space into its secondary headquarters in Bucharest, Vodafone rented 16,000 square meters in Bucharest One tower where it will consolidate operations in early 2016, while Telekom will relocate operations to a 25,000 square meter space in Globalworth Campus near the Pipera subway station.
Refinancing of AFI Palace Cotroceni mall
Israeli group AFI Europe, the owner of the AFI Palace Cotroceni shopping center in Bucharest got a EUR220 million refinancing deal from Erste, Raiffeisen and Deutsche Pfandriefbank. This is the biggest real estate loan granted after the onset of the crisis.
The development of the mall was funded with a loan from German’s Hypo Real Estate in 2007, which turned into Deutsche Pfandriefbank.
The mall in Cotroceni was valued at EUR401 million in the latest report of the company, so the exposure of the three banks is about 55%. The mall generated EUR29 million net profit in 2013.
Office space stock in Cluj, Timisoara and Iasi increases
As the labor and office space markets in Bucharest are becoming increasingly competitive, real estate developers and multinational companies are starting to look closely at the second wave of big cities: Cluj, Timisoara and Iasi. Under the circumstances, the office space stock in these cities is on the rise, a trend that will continue over the next few years, considering the projects under development.
Cluj saw most new deliveries this year, such as The Office, United Business Center Tower and Liberty Technology Park, while Iasi will be the focus of next year, when Moldova Center, and a new office building developed by businessman Iulian Dascalu next to Palas Iasi are due for delivery.
The new office developments to be completed in Timisoara are City Business Center and Optica Business Park. Other cities business center developers are considering are Brasov and Targu-Mures.
Sale of largest logistics park near Bucharest
Austria’s CA Immo group sold the Europolis Logistics Park, the largest such facility near Bucharest, this year. The deal amounted to about EUR120 million.
The 214,000 square meter lettable area park was acquired by Czech Republic-based P3, a developer of logistics space controlled by US’ TPG Capital and Canada’s Ivanhoe Cambridge, the real estate arm of the largest private equity firm in that country, which also manages the pension fund of the people in the Quebec region.
The logistics park’s tenants include Carrefour, Altex, eMag and Interbrands, as well as an additional 40-hectare plot that the buyer intends to develop.
Immofinanz started expansion of IRIDE project
Austria’s Immofinanz, the largest office space owner in Bucharest started expansion of the biggest business park in Bucharest, IRIDE. It will develop a 20,000 square meter building at first, which will be delivered in 2016.
Immofinanz will invest about EUR34 million in the building and plans to invest EUR85 million in the Metroffice project that will consist of three 40,000 square meter office buildings and a 140-room hotel.
This will be the first office complex developed by Immofinanz in Romania, as its current portfolio only includes buildings acquired from other investors.
Land market thaw-up: from Chimopar to Turbomecanica
Office and home developers along with do-it-yourself retailer Dedeman helped thaw the large plot deals in Bucharest, after having bought about EUR100 million worth of land.
Subject of the deals were again the plots of former plants such as Chimopar and Policolor in the Pallady area, Grivita (beer) and Spicul (bakery), close to the Basarab Railway Station and Turbomecanica in Militari. In northern Bucharest, companies like Portland Trust, NEPI and Globalworth paid tens of millions of euros each to buy plots for new office developments.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)