May 16 (SeeNews) - Big rental deals are expected to push forward Bulgaria's office market in 2016, with companies operating in the IT and business process outsourcing (BPO) sector as the most active players, commercial property advisers Forton, a strategic partner of Cushman&Wakefield for Bulgaria and Macedonia, said.
Companies from the IT and BPO sectors were involved in 70% of transactions during the first quarter of the year, Forton said in a press release last week. Companies from these sectors continue to expand their operations by opening offices in the cities of Plovdiv, Varna and Bourgas, as well.
The largest transactions in Sofia during the review period involved the expansion of IBM's office space in Sofia Airport Center by 3,500 sq m and Visteon's addition of 1,300 sq m to its space in office building Capital Fort.
The average rental contract last year was for 1,200 sq m of office space in Sofia, as this year over 2,000 sq m of office space in the average are expected to be rented, Stanimira Pashova, office space manager at Forton/Cushman&Wakefield, said, as quoted in the press release.
According to Forton/Cushman&Wakefield data, rental contracts for 22,188 sq m of office space in Sofia, down by an annual 17%, were concluded in the first quarter of the year.
By the end of the year a new 54,000 sq m of office space are expected to be offered on the market.
However, shortage of quality offices continues to curb market growth. The vacant office space ratio in the top 10 office buildings in Sofia is about 3%, which is below the minimum for a healthy market.