Money Buzz! Europa

Category: Office

  • 36% of employees think they will return to the office in 2021, along with the entire team

    36% of employees think they will return to the office in 2021, along with the entire team

    More than a third (36.5%) of employees who responded to a recent survey initiated by Genesis Property believe that the entire team within the company they are working for will return to the office this year.

    Most say that offices have become an important part of their job in the context of Covid-19 and over 57% will evaluate this aspect more closely in the future, when they will seek a new job.

    While proximity of the office to their home remains an important factor for most employees (65%), the pandemic year increased the importance of health measures taken in the building (for 51% of respondents) and of the workspace structure, with greater emphasis on delimited offices that facilitate distancing (for 49.3% of respondents).

    At the same time, 41% say that, from now on, they will carefully evaluate what technologies are available in the workplace to ensure better protection for their health and for the health of their colleagues.

    The post-pandemic office: safer and more creative

    Looking ahead, in addition to the health measures that more than 60% of respondents to Genesis Property’s survey consider necessary in office buildings today and in the future, many employees believe there is also room for further changes.

    52% believe that, in the future, offices should provide employees an integrated work, lifestyle, entertainment, and socializing experience.

    Another 45% consider that the current situation represents an opportunity for the integration of technologies based on artificial intelligence which can eliminate repetitive and routine activities whilst redefining how they will work in the future.

    Lastly, 40% want to have the opportunity to work in spaces that give them a better environment to manifest their creativity.

  • Rockefeller Center owner buys Tour Cristal in Paris

    Rockefeller Center owner buys Tour Cristal in Paris

    Tishman Speyer has acquired the Tour Cristal in central Paris, along with its partner the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments).

    The 26,000 sqm office tower is located in the 15th Arrondissement – the heart of the French capital.

    Built in 1990, the Tour Cristal was the last tower to be developed in the ”Front de Seine” area and is to date among the last high-rise towers built in central Paris. 

    Recently, Tishman Speyer acquired the Carré Saint-Germain in central Paris, an iconic 13,800 sqm mixed-used property on the prestigious Boulevard Saint-Germain.

    Tishman Speyer has acquired, developed, and operated 424 properties, totaling 184 million square feet, with a combined value of approximately $97 billion (U.S.).

    Their portfolio includes iconic assets as Rockefeller Center in New York City, The Springs in Shanghai and TaunusTurm in Frankfurt.

  • S IMMO purchased two office buildings in Bucharest from Skanska

    S IMMO purchased two office buildings in Bucharest from Skanska

    S IMMO purchased Campus 6.2 and Campus 6.3 office buildings developed by Skanska in the Center-West submarket of Bucharest.

    The transaction volume is approximately EUR 97 mln.

    The two buildings have a rentable area of nearly 38,000 square meters and 463 parking spaces. Currently, 99% of the buildings are leased by companies such as Microsoft and Société Générale European Business Services.

    Campus 6.3 has already been delivered in October 2020, and Campus 6.2 is due to be completed in the first quarter of 2021.

    The new buildings acquired by S IMMO, Campus 6.2 and 6.3, increase the office portfolio of S IMMO in Romania to over 73,000 sqm of GLA, together with the existing office buildings, The Mark and Sun Plaza Offices.

    At the end of this year’s first nine months, the total investment volume in Romania accounts for EUR 521.4* mln (*including GTC shares transaction), with office buildings as the most traded sector, accounting for 90% of the total national transaction volume, according to the CBRE Research data.

    At the end of the third quarter of 2020, prime yields remain stable for the office and industrial segments.

  • First Class A office building in Craiova, in Electroputere Parc Mall

    First Class A office building in Craiova, in Electroputere Parc Mall

    The new offices are part of a mixed-use building covering 12,300 square meters that has been completed this year and another similar building covering 12,700 square meters is set to be finalized in the second quarter of 2021.

    The total investment in both developments amounts to 39 million euros.

    With this new opening, Electroputere Parc adds 4,300 square meters of commercial spaces and 8,000 square meters of office spaces, alongside 650 new underground parking spaces for customers and employees.

    The new commercial spaces are already occupied by brands like Hervis, Volvo, Pepco, Takko and Sportissimo, as well as several coffee shops and restaurants.

    The Class A office building is also almost entirely leased. The main tenant, covering 60% of the gross leasable area, is HELLA, the leading automotive supplier specialized in innovative lighting systems and vehicle electronics that has 4,500 employees in Romania in total.

    Electroputere Parc to upgrade in 2021

    Construction works for a second tranche of the mixed-use development of Electroputere Parc are well underway, with plans to be finalized in the second quarter of 2021.

    This will add another building offering 12,700 additional square meters of mixed-use spaces.

    Once this second tranche is completed, the total gross leasable area of the new complex will increase to 25,000 square meters, of which 9,000 square meters for retail and entertainment and 16,000 square meters for offices.

    The French real estate group Catinvest, which owns and manages Electroputere Parc, also owns and manages several other shopping centers in Romania – Carrefour Orhideea and Cora Pantelimon in Bucharest and Carrefour TOM in Constanta – as well as in Eastern Europe – Auchan Savoya Park in Budapest and Tesco Borska Pole in Plzen.

    Catinvest is also active in France in residential and shopping centers activities. In total, Catinvest owns and manages more than 500,000 square meters of spaces in France and Eastern Europe.

  • Nokia extend lease agreements for office space in Wroclaw

    Nokia extend lease agreements for office space in Wroclaw

    Nokia extend its lease agreements with Globalworth for the office space it occupies in the West Gate and West Link office buildings in Wroclaw.

    Nokia moved to West Gate in 2014, where it has opened, among others, a research and development centre for new telecommunications technology.

    Two years later, the company entirely occupied the neighboring office building – West Link, both buildings being owned by Globalworth. 

    Thus, Nokia now leases 14,500 sqm in West Gate and 15,200 sqm in West Link.

    West Gate is a modern, 17,700 sqm GLA office building located in the north-west part of Wrocław.

    West Link, which is adjacent to West Gate, is a modern, five-storey A-class office building situated on ul. Na Ostatnim Groszu in Wroclaw.

  • Skanska acquired a land plot in Boston, USA, for USD 177M

    Skanska acquired a land plot in Boston, USA, for USD 177M

    Skanska has acquired about 2,787 square meters of land in Boston, Massachusetts for USD 177M, about SEK 1.5 billion.

    Located at 380 Stuart Street in the Back Bay neighborhood, Skanska plans to develop a 27-story, about 58,000 square meter, Class-A office building with ground-floor retail and below-ground parking.

    The project will target LEED Platinum, Fitwell, and WiredScore certifications.

    This acquisition marks Skanska’s seventh commercial venture in Greater Boston, and one of the few remaining opportunities for a new, ground-up development in Back Bay.

  • Bucharest: The occupancy costs of office spaces at 3-4% of the companies turnover

    Bucharest: The occupancy costs of office spaces at 3-4% of the companies turnover

    The occupancy costs of office spaces represent, on average, between 3 and 4% of the turnover of services companies in Bucharest, and they may fall even below 2%, in some cases, according to an Cushman & Wakefield Echinox analysis.

    The analysis takes into account the results from 2019 achieved by companies in various fields, such as software development, advertising agencies, IT consulting, engineering and technical consulting, business support services, accounting and financial audit, architecture or real estate agencies.

    The analyzed companies, whose revenues are mainly generated from work performed in office spaces, achieved in 2019 a total turnover of 8 billion euros, with about 112,000 employees and an average productivity of 70,000 euros per employee.

    The occupancy cost of the office spaces for these companies, consisting of rent, service and utilities tax, was estimated at 255 million euros per year, the equivalent of about 190 euros / employee / month.

    In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, which imposed a series of social distancing rules to limit the spread of the virus, companies implemented procedures for working from home for most employees, reducing the physical occupancy of offices to the level of 35 – 40%.

    Given that the new working model has come up with a number of challenges, but also with benefits, most companies are currently analyzing how they will operate on the medium and long term, while they carefully monitor the productivity evolution and reanalyze the occupancy costs.

  • Carioca SpA headquarters powered by 1,248 SunPower Performance solar panels

    Carioca SpA headquarters powered by 1,248 SunPower Performance solar panels

    Maxeon Solar Technologies SunPower Performance solar panels are now powering the Headquarters of Carioca SpA located in the North-West of Italy.

    Covering a rooftop area of about 2,574 square meters, the 500 kW SunPower technology based PV array is one of the largest commercial solar installations for self-consumption purposes in the area.

    Maxeon estimates the installation is expected to generate around 524,000 kWh of clean electricity and mitigate 278,244 kg of carbon dioxide emissions annually.

    The system will provide 15% of the facility’s total energy, offsetting purchased utility power by the same percentage and delivering approximately 57,000€ in savings per year over the solar system’s estimated 25-year or longer lifespan.

    The system features 1,248 SunPower Performance solar panels.

  • Castellum acquires five office properties in Kalasatama, Helsinki

    Castellum acquires five office properties in Kalasatama, Helsinki

    Through a company acquisition of the Finnish real estate group Lindström Invest, Castellum has acquired a real estate portfolio in Helsinki.

    The portfolio comprises five office properties with a total lettable area of approximately 36,000 sq.m.

    The acquisition price amounts to EUR 150 million, including overheads of EUR 7 million, of which EUR 81 million is paid as a share issue in kind and the remaining consists of takeover of debt.

    All properties are well located in Kalasatama, a former port area that the City of Helsinki is now developing into a district intended for 25,000 new residents and 10,000 new jobs. Kalasatama is located 2 km northeast of Helsinki CBD.

    The buildings contain high-quality office space and a conference center and Lindström Oy, Suomen Asiakastieto Oy, Nordic Morning Oy are its major tenants.

  • Swedbank signed a 734 sq m lease on the 45th floor at the Empire State Building

    Swedbank signed a 734 sq m lease on the 45th floor at the Empire State Building

    Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. announced today that Swedbank, a Stockholm-based banking group, signed a 7,905 sq ft. (734 sq m) lease on the 45th floor at the Empire State Building.

    Swedbank offers retail banking, asset management, financial and other services.

    Swedbank has 4.0 million private customers in Sweden and 3.25 million private customers in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

    The bank has 268,000 corporate customers in Sweden and 276,000 corporate customers in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

    Swedbank has 15,614 employees that work in 160 branches in Sweden and 92 branches in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

    Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. owns, manages, operates, acquires and repositions office and retail properties in Manhattan and the greater New York metropolitan area, including the Empire State Building, the ”World’s Most Famous Building.”

  • ManpowerGroup leased over 1.000 sqm in The Light One Bucharest

    ManpowerGroup leased over 1.000 sqm in The Light One Bucharest

    ManpowerGroup leased 1.063 square meters in The Light One office building, developed and owned by River Development.

    ManpowerGroup joins companies such as CTP, Regina Maria Medical Clinic, Kinetic, ON Semiconductor or Sweat Concept in the building.

    The new headquarters meets all the requirements of the company that aims to expand the business, and the very well connected area will help easy access both for the company’s employees and for candidates looking for new jobs.

    The Light One is the first of the three Class A office buildings in the entire mixed-use office & residential project – The Light.

    The building has a leasable area of ​​21,653 sqm (GLA) and a height of 11 floors – 2S + GF + 11 floors and is BREEAM certified with the Excellent grade.

  • Bucharest office market recorded a slight return in demand in the third quarter

    Bucharest office market recorded a slight return in demand in the third quarter

    The office market in Bucharest continues to grow, in the first nine months of the year being delivered new spaces with a total area of ​​124.000 square meters.

    Developers have in various phases of construction buildings with a cumulative area of ​​388.000 square meters, according to real estate consulting company Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.

    The commercial stock (for leasing) of office buildings in Bucharest reaches about 2,9 million square meters, other buildings with an area of ​​around 150.000 square meters being occupied by the owners.

    At the same time, demand in the first three quarters amounted to 160.000 square meters, 43% decrease compared to the same period of last year, with transactional activity being dominated by lease renewal and renegotiation contracts, which accounted for almost 46% of request.

    While the second quarter, under the impact of the restrictions imposed by Covid-19 pandemic, was one of the weakest for the Bucharest office market in the last decade, with a traded volume of only 44.500 square meters, demand showed week signs of return in the third quarter, when the traded volume amounted to 63.600 sqm.

    In this context, the vacancy (contractual) rate of the office spaces is 10.8%, with a significant difference between class A (8.2%) and class B (18.2%) office spaces.

    On the other hand, the use of offices is about 40-50% of the usual level before the outbreak of the pandemic, given that the vast majority of companies continue to operate in Work from Home or hybrid system.

    The most important office projects under construction are One Cotroceni Park, J8 Office Park, Globalworth Square, U Center, One Tower, Miro Offices, Țiriac Tower, Dacia One, Millo Offices, Expo or Sema London & Oslo, for one among these spaces under construction, the developers have signed pre-lease contracts with various tenants.