Category: blog

The steady growth of the outsourcing sector in Sofia city led to serious situation on front of the office market investors. The companies from the outsourcing sphere are showing serious interest towards the highest class office buildings, namely business centers AA with all the facilities and extras they come with. The international companies that have picked Sofia as the destination to outsource their business have special requirements towards the office premises they intend to rent. It seems that Sofia city has many available offices, however only four or five of the business centers answer to the high requirements of the office buildings of class AA. Currently, there are two or three projects for office buildings of the same quality and high standard. The main set of offices for rent in Sofia that are available are with size ranging from 250 sq.m to 1000 sq.m, while the large companies from the outsourcing business looking to relocate their business practices in Sofia are looking for office premises with size of 1200 sq.m and larger.

The companies that are outsourcing their business to Sofia city are looking for large office premises in Sofia office centers of class AA, or two or more offices set on one floor. Many of these companies are also planning to expand the number of their employees in the future, thus most probably they will need even larger offices in Sofia to rent. Among the other requirements are the good location and the easy access to the local public transport system, large parking area, good air conditioning and ventilation system, wireless internet, etc.

Sofia city has new types of companies that rent the available office premises in the modern business buildings. More than half of the office buildings in Sofia are rented by outsourcing companies, which choose only high class AA office buildings. The outsourcing industry in Sofia grows significantly with the impressive 20-25 % per year and the companies in that sphere of the business seem to be the ones that are most active on the Sofia office market. The business of the outsourcing industry is associated with investments in call centers and service centers and these companies often need significant space to do their business.

That is why in year 2013, more than half of the office rental contracts were signed with companies working in the outsourcing sphere. This is good news for the real estate agents, however the outsourcing companies looking for offices to rent could be quite precise and demanding clients. Unfortunately, Sofia city has not so many office buildings of such a high class. It seems that the office market has to go in one direction – projects and construction of office buildings of the highest class AA. These business centers with offices have to enjoy central location or location in the organized business areas of Sofia. They should also have good transport connections and large parking areas.

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.