“We are carefully looking at the developments on the market and see what is available, both land and already built projects that we might buy,” says Marian Roman, managing director of CA Immo Romania.
“Romania is a stable and very good market for CA Immo, among the best in the region as seen in the last five years, when we’ve constantly had more than 97% take-up. We are not thinking of selling anything and never have, even though we own two of the first office space projects built in Bucharest – Opera Center and Europe House.”
Marian Roman has been managing director of CA Immo Romania since March 2011, after having worked as regional managing director of Europolis Real Estate Asset Management.
He says CA Immo has no intention to expand outside Bucharest and will focus on the office space segment.
“We will definitely not go with projects to other parts of the country in the short and medium run. After CA Immo bought Europolis at the end of 2010, the shareholders decided to focus solely on the office space segment and only in main cities, a decision that covers the entire region. That is what we know how to do best and that’s what we want to keep doing,” Roman explains.
CA Immo is currently building an office space complex in the central-western area of Bucharest, near the Grozavesti subway station. With a lettable area of 37,000 square meters, Orhideea Towers is the first greenfield real estate project for CA Immo in Romania and will require a EUR75 million investment. Construction started in October 2015 and will be completed in December 1, 2017. The general contractor is Austrian-held PORR Construct.
“The only tenant so far is Mysis (financial software solution developer with more than 2,000 customers in 130 countries i.e.), which rented 8,000 square meters with an option for more. We’re in talks with three or four other potential tenants, not only from the IT but also from the banking sector. This is our only project under construction at the moment and will remain the only one until completion.”
Marian Roman says the office space market has improved a lot since the early 2000s when CA Immo bought Opera Center from Portland Trust in an about $30 million deal.
“Some office space projects will become less attractive to tenants for various reasons in the future, which include sustainability or infrastructure in the area, so owners will have to consider reconversion. New office buildings are still being built and there are still tenants, the temptation to move from an old to a new building.”
CA Immo and fellow Austrian developer Immofinanz announced merger plans in April, which will create one of the most powerful real estate companies in Central and Eastern Europe. The local portfolio of the two stands at about almost EUR1.2 billion, while their global portfolio at more than EUR6 billion. The deal has yet to receive approval from the competition watchdog, Roman said.
CA Immo’s Romanian portfolio is worth EUR280 million and consists of five income properties, all them office buildings: Opera Center One, Opera Center Two, Europe House, Bucharest Business Park and Riverplace. They all have an about 106,000 square meter gross lettable area, 97% take-up and generate more than EUR21 million income a year.
Immofinanz’s portfolio in Romania is valued at EUR907.7 million, almost EUR650 million of which are completed investments, EUR30 million allocated to projects under development and EUR230 million projects yet to begin. Immofinanz has 12 income properties in all, eight of which office buildings totaling 187,000 square meters.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)