It will relocate to the new place this fall, sources on the real estate market say.
This is one of the most important deals for the Pipera-Tunari (northern Bucharest) area in the last few years. Other companies renting office space in Pipera-Tunari are Ford, Coca-Cola, Vodafone, Flanco and Renault Technologie Roumanie.
Mercedes chose Swan despite it going insolvent early this year as a result of lender pressure. The negotiations started about a year ago, the same source said.
Many companies have stayed away from Pipera-Tunari in recent years, seeing it as an area that is difficult to get to, which means it has about 80,000 square meters of empty office space.
Mercedes is currently operating in an office building owned by Danube Property Fund near the Aurel Vlaicu (Baneasa) Airport in northern Bucharest.
This fall, however, Mercedes will move into a new 6,000 square meter building in the Swan complex, as the rental of half of it by the carmaker persuaded developer Chayton Capital (UK) to open a new building in the three-building complex. The broker of the deal was real estate consultant Jones Lang LaSalle.
The move will bring Mercedes-Benz Romania, the importer of the German carmaker in close proximity to the Pipera showroom of Autoklass, one of the largest Mercedes dealers in Romania.
Chayton Capital and Mercedes-Benz Romania did not comment on the deal by the time the story was ready for posting.
Swan went insolvent on EUR55 million debt to Volksbank and UniCredit not long ago. Owners intend to reorganize but they also need to persuade tenants that things will improve and that insolvency does not mean the end. Occupancy rate of the 29,000 square meter lettable area complex is 35%.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)