Monthly Archives: April 2014

Many investors are now showing interest in the Sofia office premises of highest quality. It is a fact that in 2013 and in the first three months of 2014, the Sofia offices of class A reached very stable rental levels. The real estate agents believe that this tendency will go on and they are positive that the choice of good quality offices will remain very good. The offices in Sofia that provoke the interest have several main characteristics – they have great location and a wonderful choice of amenities. The good location is a self-explanatory factor, as it means that the employees and the partners and clients of the company will have fast and easy access to the office by walking or by using the public transport. The choice of amenities include all those little things that every employee needs – excellent internet connection, wonderful maintenance, parking area and a great choice of dining places nearby.

The managers of the big companies that plan to relocate to Sofia and are looking for a modern office premise insist on the professional property management and maintenance. The good office management companies have the necessary knowledge and know-how to maintain such large office buildings in Sofia and they have experience.

The real estate agents confirm that the situation on the Sofia office market is stable and expect the rental levels of the prime office space in Bulgaria to increase in 2014. There is a serious interest in the office buildings in Sofia city in the recent months and this tendency is expected to increase the rental prices. The experts say that the good offices in the best business centers in Sofia will soon be rented for more than 10 Euros per square meter and these prices will remain stable. Currently, the rental levels of Sofia offices are around 7 – 9 Euros / sq.m and the interest towards the offices is very serious. There are many international companies that want to outsource their business to Sofia and many local companies that are in search of larger offices as they expand their business.

According to a research, the number of the completed office premises in Europe, the Middle East and Africa has increased significantly in 2013. This is due to the increased construction of office buildings at these markets. The experts predict that this tendency will continue and the office premises in places like Sofia and other capitals on the European capital will go up with 17 %. A great deal of the new office premises in Sofia and in the rest of the countries have already been rented, even before being completed.

Many local companies and a great deal of new international companies are looking for a new office in Sofia. Besides the location and the good maintenance, which the companies rank as most important when choosing an office, the managers are also interested in several other things. Many of the companies are looking for spacious open-plan offices with a height of the premises of 2.80 m, windows that could be open, cabling for internet and satellite television CAT 6, UPS, as well as energy efficiency façade, etc. All these elements of the Sofia offices are not taken individually, but as an entire package. When looking to relocate to a new office in Sofia, the companies are mainly in search of vast open premises with no partition walls. The company can use the office area in this way or can later add patrician walls. There are also companies that insist on Sofia offices with separate cabinets such as pharmacy companies, banks, lawyer offices. When the office is of the open space, the companies insist on 8 to 10 m distance between the columns.

Another thing that the companies in Sofia are looking for in their offices is presence of a parking area. Companies find that quite important both for the convenience of their employees and for their business partners. The companies are looking for location near the big boulevards and in the Business Park Sofia, which are well connected to the center of the capital. In general, today the companies know what they are looking for when searching for a new office in Sofia. They have certain requirements and are looking for a number of important characteristics in the new Sofia office they plan to relocate their business at. Among all the enumerated characteristics, we should also mention the rental price or the sales price of the offices, which is also a factor for the business companies.

There are many new office buildings in Sofia and a lot of local and international companies that are looking to relocate to a better and more comfortable office premise in the Bulgarian capital. There are several important things that all general managers look for when they are in need of a new office in Sofia city – the location and the maintenance. In the last two years, the companies looking to buy or rent an office in Sofia city are requiring office buildings with full service. The market situation shows that the office projects with good location and not so perfect parameters and the buildings with perfect technical parameters but unattractive location or low overall quality of services hardly ever attract the interest of the companies.

If a certain office building wants to attract and retain its company tenants, the developers and owners of office buildings should pay attention to the overall attractiveness of the location, the available property management and the offered maintenance, as well as the availability of dining places and public transport. Most of the big companies that are relocating to Sofia city are interested in the areas along the main boulevards. Other companies are looking for offices in the business centers of Sofia and yet others are interested in the downtown Sofia location. The location is associated with the access to the public transport including the metro. The other important criteria here include the time in which the maintenance company reacts when something is not working and then comes the rental fee. The least important factor for the companies searching for a Sofia office is the maintenance fee.