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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.

Realtors from leading real estate agencies in Bulgaria confirmed that the interest towards the rental and sale of offices in Sofia is increasing. The investments made in the region of Central and Eastern Europe are getting more serious and this means that new companies will soon open offices in Sofia. These international companies have excellent reputation and developing business with a lot of potential and naturally they are looking only for the best offices for rent. Will Sofia city be able to offer such office buildings?

In the current year in Sofia city are expected to be completed two very large business centers in Sofia of class A, which will answer to the demand of the investors. These two projects are one of the office towers part of Bulgaria Mall and Capital Fort. There was a pre-launch of the office premises in these two office buildings in Sofia as any new companies have already rented offices there. This is a signal to the realtors that the office market situation in Sofia is improving but also a sign that the number of the available high-quality large office premises in the existing class A office buildings in Sofia is decreasing.

The areas in Sofia city that provoke the interest of the investors and foreign companies that wish to start business in Sofia are placed near the Business Park Sofia, along Tsarigradsko Schousse Blvd. and Bulgaria Blvd. There is still interest in offices in the center of Sofia, but there are not many large office premises available for sale or rent there. The rental levels of the offices of high class in Sofia city remain stable.

The real estate managers dealing with Sofia office premises confirm that there was an increase of 45% in the rental of offices in the capital of Bulgaria during year 2013. The increase in the interest towards the office buildings in Sofia was due to the expansion of certain companies that already take a place on the market. Realtors predict that this tendency will continue and during the current year the rented office premises of class A in Sofia will exceed the ones rented in 2013 which reached 110 000 sq.m. In 2014 the real estate agents predict that the office market will get new tenants – modern companies with serious plans for development and growth in the next two years. Currently are available enough office premises in office buildings of class A, which correspond to the international requirements, even though their number is decreasing with fast pace. This is so as there are not many new projects for the construction of office buildings of class A in Sofia.

Which are the requirements of the most active companies on the rental market of Sofia premises? The international companies which are relocating their business and are outsourcing part of their activities in the capital of Bulgaria work in the sphere of pharmacy, telecommunications and energetics. These outsourcing companies are looking for Sofia office premises with size that varies from 200 sq.m. up to 9000 sq.m. The tenant companies require flexible conditions on the rental contracts, functional layouts, proximity to trade areas, service zones and public transport. Such projects are Serdika Offices, European Trade Center, and Bulgaria Mall.

Sofia city is a wonderful business destination for the large international companies, which plan to outsource their call centers and part of their services and practices to a more affordable destination. Sofia is the only European capital where these companies are able to rent offices and entire business centers for a monthly rental price ranging from 4.5 to 12 Euro/sq.m. Among the affordable office buildings in Sofia city is the Benchmark business center on Tsarigradsko Schousse Blvd. with its office premises of 17 500 sq.m. The office building was completed in the beginning of the financial crises and had difficulties finding tenants due to the high rental levels. Today the rental levels are normal and the business center is welcoming new companies from all spheres of business since it has excellent location interesting architecture and spacious atrium which adds to its charm and which could be used for hosting exhibitions and various events that will improve the working environment.

Another business center that is trying to gain the interest of the big companies and find tenants is the Vertigo Business Center in the district of Manastirski Livadi-Iztok. The office building has an impressive architectural form and is placed near Bulgaria Blvd. Those companies whose sphere of business requires them to be close to the Sofia Airport can rent offices in Sofia in the Black Diamond Business Center near Georgi Asparuhov Stadium or in the new office building near Domko Hypermarket on Vladimir Vazov Blvd. The office buildings that are new and waiting to be rented by business companies from Bulgaria and abroad are 25 in number with usable area of 130 000 sq.m. where 75 % of that brand new office area is vacant.

The modern Sofia offices are following the tendencies of leading European countries, aiming to offer excellent working conditions, results oriented facility management practices and optimization of the expenses. According to the chairman of the European facility management network, the financial difficulties in the past few years have had an impact on the office market in Bulgaria and all over Europe. Today the office premises are used more wisely, the living space is optimized and many efforts are made for the employee productivity in the offices to be increased. Today this is possible with a deep analysis of the business specifics, optimization of the working processes and implementation of new and modern technologies. The effective usage of the office area in Sofia is associated with good understanding of the working processes there.

In the past many Sofia offices were designed in such a way as to offer a large study for the manager, which was not fully used since the manager is often traveling or outside meeting business partners. Before the crises the employees were not feeling comfortable using that office area in Sofia for the purposes of the meeting. Today, many employees are arranging meetings with important clients in the cabinet of the manager when the manager is away and this is no longer strange or taboo. The optimization of the expenses of the offices in Sofia is very important, but this does not mean that the office “kitchen” or the coffee room should be cut. On the contrary, these areas make the colleagues and office employees communicate, solve work tasks in more informal environment and thus improve the working climate in the company in general.