Yearly Archives: 2014

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.

The potential of the Sofia office market is enormous according to real estate agents from leading brokerage companies. Many of the companies which are now outsourcing their business in Sofia and the companies which are already part of the business sector in Bulgaria are looking for fully furnished and well equipped offices in Sofia. The construction companies which are investing in office premises are now trying to provide modern office buildings with Sofia office premises around 200 and 250 sq.m. According to the real estate agents, there are not many available offices of the highest class A in the center of Sofia and there is a niche for them to be constructed. Such offices however are also on demand in the outskirts of the city, especially near the ring road.

The investors in office buildings in Sofia should know however that there is a tendency for the companies to sign rental contracts for shorter period of time. In the past the companies were signing rental contracts for their Sofia offices for ten years, now they are more willing to sign contracts for half of that period. Why is that so? The companies want to feel free to change the location and the office building in Sofia, in case they find out that the current office premises they are renting in Sofia do not answer their needs anymore. There is yet another trend on Sofia office market – the so called co-working process, where individuals rent a single working space where they can work together with people from other branches.

It seems that the office market in Sofia is already part of the new tendency that is already valid in the office markets of London, New York and Dubai. The offices in Sofia city are now coming with full equipment and furnishing. The international companies which are outsourcing their business in Sofia city seem to be very happy with that as they pay more for rent, but they also get more in terms of office premise conditions and access to various facilities and amenities. According to the information presented by the real estate experts, the Sofia offices that are mostly being rented have up to ten working premises and are fully furnished with stylish working desks and are connected to fast wireless internet and digital television, as well as a fixed telephone landline.

These new and modern Sofia office centers provide additional facilities such as meeting halls that could be reserved for a certain meeting, office equipment including scanner and printing machine. The Sofia office buildings of class A are offering office premises with cleaning and maintenance of the common parts, the fees for which are included in the monthly rental price. In other words, the situation on the Sofia office market is quite good, there are still offices of the highest class A which are available for sale and rent, tempting the companies with their excellent location and full range of available facilities and services.

During the last two years it became clear to the construction companies and the real estate agents, that the offices on demand in Sofia are the ones of the highest possible quality. The companies which are looking to open their new offices in Sofia and thus to outsource their business in Bulgaria, as well as the companies which have already opened offices in Sofia and now want to relocate are all looking for a few crucial things – good location, well covered by the public transport; high quality of the office premises and balanced sale / rental price. Some of these companies have already been renting business centers in Sofia of a lower quality and now they do not wish to make compromise.

Why are the companies looking for office premises in Sofia of class A? The answer is simple – they are looking for a good balance between work and life. The good managers know that in order to keep their business running and to keep their best employees in the team, they must offer a great selection of services and comforts. If the employees are happy, then they are giving 100 % in their daily activities and the company they work for makes a profit. It is as simple as that and the sooner the companies managers understand that, the better it will be for everyone. According to the real estate agents, there will not be bigger changes in the rental levels on the Sofia office market in 2014.

The sector of the business premises and offices in Sofia is in good place now, developing with steady steps and the business seems to feel certain optimism. The characteristics of the available office buildings in Sofia and the office centers that are in progress were discussed by leading real estate agents and investors. According to the real estate agents, who are experts on the office properties market in Sofia, the future projects for the construction of office buildings in Sofia will offer around 190 000 sq.m. However, the office projects of class A in Sofia that are currently being worked on comprise of around 60 000 sq.m.

In case the rental levels of Sofia office premises remain the same in the current years, the investors will find out that there is a lack of high quality office premises. Currently, in Sofia city are available 45 000 sq.m. of offices and the real estate experts say that each year around 100 000 sq.m of new offices in Sofia are being rented or purchased by new companies on the Bulgarian market or existing companies which are relocating. Currently, the interest of the investors is focused on the office buildings of the highest class A in Sofia, which have all the required facilities and amenities to offer to the people working there, public transport and access to good infrastructure.