While the office surface subject to rental contracts in Bucharest increased by 47% y/y to nearly 130,000 square metres (sqm) in Q2 – corresponding to some 13,000 employees – the new contracts pertain only a surface of roughly half of it or 64,000 sqm, according to Fortim Trusted Advisors quoted by Ziarul Financiar.

The rest of it was renegotiations carried out by tenants with contracts that expire this year – a trend that will continue for at least another quarter, according to consulting firm’s experts.

“Currently, these flagship companies, with well-known names and very large leased areas, are negotiating with the current owners and in parallel are looking for better options in terms of price, location or facilities,” said Nicolae Ciobanu, managing partner - head of advisory at Fortim Trusted Advisors, member of the BNP Paribas Real Estate Alliance.

Consequently, the percentage of new office leases reached a three-year low in the second quarter of this year, according to Ziarul Financiar calculations based on data from Fortim Trusted Advisors.

The companies that leased the largest office spaces in Q2 are eMAG, with an area of 10,000 sqm in Globalworth Square, Banca Transilvania, with an area of 9,860 sqm in Green Court, Vois (Vodafone division), with 5,462 sqm in The Bridge, Coca-Cola, with 4,500 sqm, in Globalworh Campus, and the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, with a space of 3,780 sqm in Sema Park.

iulian@romania-insider.com

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