”There are lots of transactions in different negotiation phases. We expect interesting transactions on the office segment. In 2017 we are waiting to see as well new investors names, providing that products offered openly on sale are among the best, attracting important big names. There are some of these products with the potential of bringing nice surprises”, has declared Profit.ro Silviana Badea, national director, head of capital markets within JLL.
Sînziana Pardhan, associate director within the investments department of Colliers International, also says there are transactions in all market segments (offices, industrial and retail) in phases of advanced negotiation or due diligence, started in 2016 but scheduled for completion in the first part of this year.
Colliers representative also expects new entries on investment sector in 2017, considering the growing interest showed by the foreign investors.
”Romania can be still considered a success story, especially if we consider the economic growth of the last two year, as well as the anti-corruption fight also sustained by the public system reforms, mainly for the increase of transparency. Therefore, also considering the regional context, Romania is currently offering a very attractive yield/risk ratio, which attracts more and more new investors towards the real estate sector”, declared Sînziana Pardhan.
One of the most expected transactions in the office market is the sale of AFI Park office complex, which for a letter of intent was already signed. The value of the five buildings is estimated at EUR 154 million.
2016 was better than 2015 considering the volumes and the new investors buying real estate projects in Romania, as well as the general sentiment, according to Silvianei Badea. Therefore, the total investment volume in 2016 is estimated at nearly EUR 930 million, one third bigger than the one registered in 2015.
The largest transactions involved office buildings, representing nearly 46 pct. (EUR 431 million) of the total volume, by industrial/logistics segment with 28 pct. (EUR 257 million) and retail with 26 pct.
The largest transaction in 2016 was the takeover of the logistics spaces developer P3, also present in Romania, by the sovereign fund of Singapore, GIC. Globally, the transaction valued EUR 2.4 billion, being confidential for Romania. P3 owns the largest logistics park in Romania, P3 Bucharest, currently including 11 warehouses on a total area of 305,000 sqm.
The second position is taken by the transaction of the largest real estate group listed on the South African Stock, Growthpoint Properties, which took control over the company Globalworth, the largest office owner in Romania.
The third transaction involves the takeover of the commercial centre Shopping City Sibiu by the investment fund Nepi.
According to Silviana Badea, the most important new investors names entering the local market in 2016 are the Czech group PPF, which bought the office project Metropolis Center in Bucharest, Growthpoint, which bought 27% of Globalworth, GIC, and Logicor, the buyer of the industrial portfolio of Immofinanz. (source: profit.ro)
