The projects delivered in 2020 are H Victoriei 109 and Zone 313, and next year it is estimated that Matei Millo Novotel Office and Polytechnic Business Tower will be inaugurated. The peak of deliveries on this market segment was registered in 2018, when seven projects were completed, with a total of 31,948 sqm.
Who rented office space in boutique buildings in 2020
Among the tenants who have signed rental or pre-lease contracts in boutique buildings, in 2020 there are advertising agencies, business consulting firms, law firms, construction companies, IT&C companies, etc. such as Skin Media, Just Master Activities, Aktor, S.M.A.P.E., Cegedim RX, Bit Sentinel etc. The areas traded for rent in Bucharest in boutique buildings vary between 154 sqm and 3,500 sqm. The rented and pre-rented spaces cumulated offices with a total area of 17,150 sq m, in the first nine months of 2020.
The transaction of the year on this market segment in 2020
"Astoria Business Center is one of the boutique office buildings that won the interest of investors in 2020 through the premium location - being located in the ultra-central area and the flexibility of class A office spaces. In total, this business center has a leasable area of 4,200 sqm with office space, to which is added an area of 420 sqm of terraces. The building also has 48 parking spaces, arranged on the two levels in the basement. The construction has a BREAM Very Good green building certificate, being energy efficient”, states the transaction consultant Adrian Călinescu from ESOP Consulting | CORFAC International.
The investor who bought the Astoria Business Center is the Dona Real Estate company. The acquisition budget was about 9 million euros. Dona Real Estatea entered the Romanian market by purchasing boutique office buildings and along with this building also has in its portfolio the office buildings Izvor 80 Office Building (6,600 usable sqm) and Rosetti Business Center (2,600 usable sqm).
"Boutique buildings have several advantages in this pandemic period: less traffic in the building and implicitly a lower health risk, smaller spaces on the floor, with fewer employees, very good location, in well-positioned areas, where it can be easily reached. Even if the office market is going through a period of transformation due to COVID-19, this segment still retains the interest for both rental and acquisition, the company ESOP having in progress, in various stages of negotiation, transactions with similar buildings" , says Alexandru Petrescu, Managing Partner at ESOP Consulting l CORFAC International.. (source: ESOP Consulting l CORFAC International.)
