Category: Offices for rent

There is a serious demand for offices in Sofia for several months already. The investments made in business centers have gone up with more than 50 % and that stirred the search for suitable plots for construction of office buildings. For 2014 the investments made in business premises has increased with 115 million Euros, which marked a serious demand and led to an increase in the rental levels of the top class office buildings. Yet, the interest shown is not towards all offices, but towards the high class offices that answer all requirements of the international business companies.

The increased demand for new Sofia office premises is based on the fact that only 4 % of the available office premises in Sofia are of the highest class A. This Sofia offices demand is also based on the numerous international companies on the market that expand and are thus looking for larger office premises in Sofia.

Currently Bulgaria ranks at 14th place in the world and 3rd in Europe in search of office premises. The global tendencies show that the foreign investors are testing the Bulgarian market by doing online sales and then they make investments in offices, located in Sofia, Plovdiv and Varna. The main companies that are expected to make investments in offices in Sofia come from the outsourcing sphere, the trade with electronics, the call centers, the pharmaceutical companies.

The prognosis made for the Sofia Office Market in 2015 are associated with recovery of the demand for offices of class A and better macro-economic situation. The main interest will be shown by the companies in the IT, Technologies, Outsourcing and Bank spheres. That interest towards high-quality offices will be concentrated in Sofia, yet according to the prognoses of the real estate agents, there will be further an interest towards the high class office premises in the other large cities in the country.

The brokers are expecting a very strong year for the office market in Sofia and in the cities of Plovdiv, Varna and Bourgas, since Bulgaria was ranked third in Europe in terms of attractiveness for the outsourcing of businesses. The main office destinations in Sofia include Business Center Sofia, Megapark, European Trade Center, the office building of Bulgaria Mall. The statistics for the ten most sought after prime office buildings in Sofia shows that the average percentage of vacant space in them is only 4.25%.

In 2014 the percentage of the rented offices in Sofia has increased and marked a maximum increase in the last two years. The main reason behind that are the several important international companies that stated their desire to outsource their business, thanks to which the number of the available office premises in Sofia seriously decreased.

In 2014 there were not many investments in office buildings and the search for such premises made many construction companies reconsider their plans. That is so as the earnings expectations are stable and reach 9.25 % for the premium office centers.

Several large industries are showing serious interest in the rental of high class offices in Sofia, mainly coming from the outsourcing, the IT and the pharmaceutical sphere. Companies from the financial and from the energy sector are also showing interest in such business centers in Sofia. Most of the new office projects from the class A in Sofia are to be found in the region around the airport and along Bulgaria Blvd. Interesting to be mentioned is the reconstruction of Pliska Hotel on Tsarigradsko Schousse Blvd., which is to become a central office of a local bank. The rental prices of the offices of the highest class A are stable and reach 12.5 Euro/sq.m for the central business regions. In the rest of the Sofia office destinations the rental prices per month vary between 10 and 12 Euro/sq.m.

The constructions companies that are working on office projects in Sofia are trying to apply modern techniques and technology aiming to create comfortable and contemporary office buildings of the highest possible class. These office premises in Sofia are believed to provoke the attention of the international companies that are willing to relocate to Bulgaria and outsource their business activities in the country’s capital city.

The architects and engineers from the leading construction companies in Sofia try to accept each new office building as a mini ecosystem, since a great deal of the people there will spend at least 50 % and even more of their time in that working environment. The architects of Sofia business centers today are trying to present projects for office buildings with pleasant architecture, careful choice of the completion materials and precise implementation of each detail.

The contemporary situation on the Sofia office market requires the integration of good and functional layouts, done quickly but carefully, providing quality and compliance with all the modern requirements for efficiency. The integration of so many aspects in the construction of office buildings in Sofia is challenging as it features special project and design, choice of the right materials to be used and ideas and appliance of the latest technologies. The idea behind all that is for all the important elements to be combined in the construction of a modern office building of the highest class A, which will facilitate creativity and will stimulate the good mood among employees.

Among the main factors that are of greatest importance for the good functioning of each office building in Sofia and the issue of the highest class ecology certificate are the ones mentioned below:
• Spacious and bright working environment, served by air conditioners
• Excellent infrastructure, parking zone, access to services and recreation zones, served by the local transportation system
• Low exploitation costs with minimal energy use
• Fast and reliable communications
• Representative entrance and reception area
• Individual working places.

Among the other important elements of the successful Sofia office building is the appropriate form that has to be pure and clean, allowing for flexibility and efficiency, as well as for easy distribution of the working area.

For several years already, the outsourcing is the main engine that drives the office market in Sofia and also in Bulgaria. The country is preferred by the international outsourcing companies for several main reasons: Bulgaria has the lowest corporate tax in the European Union; excellent internet connection; well-educated professionals who speak at least one foreign language and last, but not least – high quality office premises.

The average size of the offices that are rented in Sofia is 1600 sq.m and the share of the outsourcing companies in the country has reached 65% of the entire office market. The available office premises of high class in Sofia in the end of 2014 were only 6%. The outsourcing companies on the Sofia market are looking for larger premises, as they usually employ more people. These companies are in search only of offices class A with excellent location and infrastructure. This is so, as the office location, the atmosphere and the conditions are part of what these companies offer to their employees.

The main requirements towards the offices in Sofia include large and bright premises with high ceilings, open-space layout, excellent quality of the rental service, parking area, shops and restaurants nearby, public transport, rental levels between 10-12 Euro/sq.m for Sofia offices of class A outside the downtown city area.

The quality office projects in Sofia, characterized with good locations have above 95 % occupancy. At the same time the interest of the foreign companies into outsourcing their business to Bulgaria is quite serious. The local investors show interest in the construction of new office buildings, yet the local banks are still quite cautious. Foreign investors are also showing signs that they wish to invest in new office projects in Sofia and may be in several of the other large cities in Bulgaria. The most sought after office locations in Sofia are already established. The general rule is the good infrastructure, which means proximity to public transport and especially the metro stations.

According to leading real estate companies, the office market in Sofia is stable and is developing well. The quality office buildings with good location are already occupied, so there is room for other new office projects in Sofia. The interest towards the old Sofia office location is strong. There is also serious interest towards the area around the airport and Hladilnika District, near Sofia Paradise Center. The most active companies on Sofia office market are coming from the IT and the outsourcing sector.

In the fall of 2014 the real estate agents registered increased interest by foreign investors towards the Sofia Offices. The interest was mainly from solid international companies which are eager to relocate part of their business activities in Sofia, as well as from companies which have already outsourced their business in the capital of Bulgaria but are expanding and thus in search of more and larger offices. Naturally, these companies are looking for offices of the highest segment – this means offices with top location, fantastic amenities and excellent facilities, plus great location with easy access for both clients of the companies and for the employees.

According to the real estate agents the number of the available offices of class A will decrease significantly as the investments made for the construction of new quality office buildings in Sofia are very limited. This is so as the banks are cautious, which is not bad since the growth will be smoother. The only larger office project now in construction in Sofia is a business building in the center of Drujba District, near the airport. These Sofia offices are to be completed in 2015 and are suitable for companies looking for an office premise and a storage area in one place. The new business center will offer 4000 sq.m of storage area which will be connected to the offices, shops, showrooms in the main business building with total area of 3000 sq.m. The new project will further have an underground garage with 70 parking lots.

Bulgaria and especially its capital Sofia is among the most preferred locations for outsourcing the business in Europe. The country is also the only country in Europe which is part of the world ranking of the most attractive destinations for outsourcing, according to a survey covering 51 countries and made by the analyst company AT Kearney. Currently Bulgaria occupies ninth place in the prestigious index, climbing eight positions compared to 2011. This means that for a second time in seven years, Sofia office market enters the top ten of the most attractive destinations in the world for the development of the outsourcing sector.

The Chairman of the Bulgarian Outsourcing Association Stefan Bumov stated that this is a great acknowledgment for the efforts made, the maturity reached by the office market in Sofia and for its potential. Currently Central Europe offers a mature industry and a lot of experienced employees. The ranking made by the analyst company AT Kearney was based on 39 indicators in three main categories: business environment, financial attractiveness, availability and skills of human resources. This index is greatly used by the outsourcing companies when making a decision where to open their centers for business processes and IT back-office functions.

Many clients of the real estate agencies in Sofia are now looking to hire offices in Sofia for short periods of time that could be one day, a week or several months. In this way the companies are trying to reduce their costs while finding their way and niche on the Sofia market. Very often, the short-term rental of Sofia offices is used by foreign companies which want to make a special campaign or to explore the market on Sofia or to find employees for the time they plan to move and open a large office in Sofia.

The outsourcing companies that are interested in investment in Sofia are in search of modern offices with areas above 2000 sq.m., positioned in specialized buildings with good location. These are companies from the outsourcing industry, IT and software companies. At the same time many local companies with small business are in search of smaller offices but again – placed in prestigious office buildings. Some of the outsourcing companies are looking to hire first-class offices in Sofia and in the main cities of Bulgaria and are willing to wait for the realization of new projects in 2016 and 2017.