Category: Offices for rent

The “green” office buildings in Sofia are quite competitive according to the real estate agents and property managers. According to them the successful management of the business buildings in Sofia depend on many factors. They include not only the effective management policies, but also the usage of innovations. The office building A2, which is part of Sofia Airport Center is an example of such successful practices. That is why it was won the prize “Office building for 2012” in the categories “Green Building” and “Public buildings with business functions”. The office building of Sofia Airport Center corresponds to all the requirements applied in the construction of “green buildings”. The process starts right from the planning and requires the building to be constructed in such way as to protect the environment. The systems used in the green buildings are innovative and ensure a healthy environment for all the employees, despite that they are also energy efficient.

The green office space in Sofia is characterized with healthy environment and microclimate and more effective work of the employees. Further, the costs that the tenants need to pay are much less than in the regular offices in Sofia city. There are indications from some of the foreign investors that they need certified green buildings for their Sofia offices, once they register a company in Bulgaria. They consider this an important factor in their decision to enter the market of the country. The rental prices of the “green office centers” are determined by the market, but in general they require affordable rent and save money on monthly costs.

The new business building Serdika Offices in the city of Sofia was awarded the prize “Green office building of the year in Southeastern Europe”. That happened during the international competition for real estate properties known as SEE Real Estate Awards. The office center is owned by an Austrian company and was nominated in the category “Green buildings” thanks to the innovations made in the building for energy efficiency. The prestige competition is organized for an eight consecutive year by EuropaProperty and this year the closing ceremony took place in the city of Bucharest. The office projects and residential buildings were evaluated by representatives from 26 real estate and construction companies, as well as finance and investment companies.

The project of Serdika Offices won the prize for many reasons. Due to the large green zones on the roof, the building allows for the absorption of larger quantities of rainwater, improves the quality of the water and absorbs the pollution. In addition, the windows and the sun protection devices have double glazing and are made of laminated safety glass that further improves the energy efficiency. This Sofia office building uses a building management system that controls the lighting in the common areas and the parking zones, the heating and ventilation, as well as the programming of the elevators.

The office market in Sofia will be characterized with a lot of activities and a growth, thanks to the increased number of investors in the area. The investments made in the Sofia city offices rose during the first quarter of the year according to the company Cushman & Wakefield. The activity on the office market in Sofia is further supported by the strengthening of the debt financing and the supply of business buildings of the highest class. Moreover, the rental levels of the Sofia offices are the lowest in Europe – approximately 9 Euros / sq.m, compared to 57 Euros / sq.m. for the offices in Paris – the city that has the most expensive offices on the continent. Many investors are now looking for an alternative and they find it in Bulgaria and its capital Sofia. In this city they can find modern Sofia offices, highly-educated professionals and higher return on the money invested, so they decide to outsource their business here.

According to the real estate agents, the tendency for the offices in Sofia from the first months of the year will affect the rest of the year. It is expected that many investors will head towards interesting new markets in Central and Eastern Europe, as they will be ready to register a company in Bulgaria, Sofia and the rest of the capitals of these countries. The offices remain the most preferred asset for the companies investors in Sofia city, both international and local.

Leading real estate companies predict a difficult year for the sales and rental office market in Europe. The companies comment that many offices in Europe stay available. In the first three months of the year the interest of the companies in the European countries has dropped to its lowest levels since year 2009. An increase in the interest of offices is seen in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The office markets there are welcoming new office and business projects, since many international companies are showing interest to register companies in Bulgaria and to open their own offices there. Bulgaria and especially Sofia is a good example of that trend. Many companies are outsourcing their businesses to Sofia, since the rental levels are quite low and there are many good office buildings of the highest class A.

It is expected that by the end of this year and in 2014, on the European markets will be presented more new office projects. Many of them will be located in important new markets in Central and Western Europe. As for the rental levels of the offices in Europe – they are expected to remain the same due to the ongoing recession. The Sofia offices rental levels remain lowest and are expected to keep that even after the slight growth in the rental levels of the European offices that is expected to happen in 2014.

The offices for rent in Sofia, as well as the offices for sale in Sofia are among the cheapest on the old continent. The average rent per square meter per month for the offices of the highest class A is approximately 9 Euros / sq.m. At the same time, the office for rent in the neighboring capitals of Belgrade, Budapest and Tirana are around 15 Euro/ sq.m. The offices in Bratislava could be rented for 11 Euros per sq.m. and those in the cities of Athens and Zagreb are available for rent for 12 Euros per sq.m. A contrast could be made with the rental levels for the offices in Paris for example reach 57 Euros / sq.m. and these are the most expensive rentals of offices. The rental levels of Paris offices are followed by the ones of London office premises.

The low rental levels of Sofia offices and the affordable sales of the offices in Sofia are among the reasons why so many foreign companies show interest in the Bulgarian capital. These international companies are outsourcing their business towards Sofia or are looking to position their production in or near Sofia, where they can find well-educated professional managers. The foreign companies like Sofia as an outsourcing destination for yet another reason – the low wages paid in the country.

The second quarter of 2013 showed good results on the office market in Sofia. The good tendencies on Sofia business market from the first quarter of the year remained and many companies decided to invest in Sofia or to outsource their business here. At the same time the new construction processes slowed down, resulting in reduction of the vacant office premises in Sofia. The reports concerning the office situation in Sofia at the moment have no connections with the political situation in the country, as companies are planning their activities for several months before they decide to act. The business climate is favorable and the investors feel save as the country is financially stable.

The companies from the sectors outsourcing of business processes and information technologies, remain the main tenants on the office market in Sofia. In the first quarter of the year were completed several projects for offices for sale and rental. The total number of the sq.m that were completed was 19300, where 17200 sq.m. were built for own purposes. When companies were not able to find larger offices in the office buildings in Sofia they initially pointed out, they were interested to see other, alternative options as well.

Since the end of last year there is a tendency among the companies which are looking for an office in Sofia. Both the local and the international companies, as wel as the companies that want to outsource their business that are in search to buy or to rent an office are now showing more interest in the area outside the center of Sofia. A few years ago an office with a very central address was something that all companies required. Today, many of them are in search of Sofia office in the good business centers outside the downtown of Sofia. There are many reasons why is that happening.

According to the real estate agents, who are dealing with finding suitable offices for top companies, the business centers in Sofia are now more appealing thanks to their modern infrastructure and the facilities that they can provide. Most of the new office buildings are of class A, have perfectly maintained common parts that are regularly cleaned. Moreover, the parking in or around these new office centers in Sofia is easy, which is opposite to the parking problem in the center of Sofia. Thanks to the new lines of the metro in Sofia, great part of the new office buildings are now not difficult to reach with public transport as well.

Sofia offices rental market suffered a short period of stress. This is the conclusion made by the leading Bulgarian newspaper Capital Daily, after it made an analysis on the connection between the political situation in Bulgaria in time of elections and the Sofia offices rental processes. According to the professionals that are working in this sphere of business, the hiring of office space decreased dramatically after the political storms in Bulgaria in the period February – May 2013. This is so, as the business companies felt insecure not only about the current situation, but also about the future of the country and whether there will be a favorable economic situation after the elections.

Earlier this year, the real estate agencies registered a growth in the rental of offices, but after the government collapsed, the renting of offices was almost frozen due to the uncertainty and the unpredictable situation. However, there are still companies that are looking for larger offices in Sofia. These are companies that have not changed their business plans and are not afraid of the changes. Such business companies in Sofia exist and they still want to seek and rent an appropriate office in Sofia.

The general situation on the office premises market in Europe for the first three months of the year is predicting difficult moments for this segment of the real estate properties. In the first quarter of the year, the rental levels of the offices in Europe in general has dropped to its lowest level since 2009. At the same time, the interest towards the offices in Sofia remains stable and several new Sofia business buildings with rental offices are about to open. The reason behind that is the interest of the international companies which are looking to open their offices in Sofia and to outsource their business in the capital of Bulgaria. This is so, as the country offers good office buildings with offices premises of class A, located in the central areas of Sofia city and the presence of many young professionals.

Even so, the tendencies are for more empty office premises throughout Europe, since many companies are still suffering from the financial crises and are trying to optimize the office area they use. According to the prognosis, at the end of 2014 there will be many new offices in Europe and in our case – including Sofia city. Most of the new office projects and business premises are situated in Western Europe and in Central Europe. They will offer all facilities and extras required, but will come at reasonable rental levels, in order to be afforded by the companies. This tendency in Sofia office market and European office market is expected remain until the end of the year due to the ongoing recession.